TLngrav-3  "by  T.  Dcmey. 


THE 


AMERICAN 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


Green  and  quiet  as  a  land  of  dreams.     P. 

BY  WILLIAM  HUNT. 


N  E  W- Y  ORK: 

NAFIS    &    CORNISH,   272   PEARL   ST 
ST.  LOUIS,   MO.— NAFIS,  CORNISH  &  CO. 

1849. 


LOAN  STACK 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1848,  by 

WILLIAM  HUNT, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  for  the  Northern  District  of  New  York. 


Ate 


TO 

ZADOCK  PRATT, 

THE    FRIEND    OF    THE    MECHANIC, 

AND  THE 

PATRON  OF  ALL  THAT  IS  USEFUL, 

St)i0  tDork 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED. 


! 

CONT 

! 

PAGE. 

Adams,  John  Quincy    ....     298 
Allen  Stephen           .    .    .    -    -  210 

ENTS. 

Dewey   Orville                  . 

PAGE. 

.    •     800 

.     .     840 

Angel  William  G 

86 

Evans  Oliver         .    .    . 

.     .     .  406 

.    .  141 

Fish  Preserved         .    .    . 

.     .     197 

Astor  John  Jacob 

272 

Banvard,  John  

.    .  385 

.     .     .401 

TTnlo-pr    Waltpr 

67 

Bailey,  Mrs  

.    .     263 

OKI 

.     .  405 

French,  Benjamin  B.      .    . 

.     .     820 
126 

.    .     308 

Beck,  Theodoric  Romeyn    . 
Beach  Moses  Y  

.    .  122 
.    .     289 

Gallatin  Albert 

184 

Beers  Cyrus  ...... 

.     .  263 

138 

Beers  George  D  .         .    . 

.     .     349 

.     337 

Brooks  Erastus 

.     .  132 

159 

Brooks  James 

.    .     309 

.     .     281 

Bryant,  William  Cullen  .    . 
Brittan  Samuel  B 

.    .  269 

270 

Gridley  Abraham           • 

.     .     .219 

Grinnell  Zelotis             •     . 

.     .     266 

Burritt  Elihu 

.    39 

Griffin  Orrin 

.    .     .  803 

Butler,  Benjamin  Franklin 

.    .     208 
211 

.    .       56 

ocq 

.    .     .     91 

311 

Hale,  David     

.    .    296 

Bullard  Otis  A 

.     344 

Hall,  Samuel  H.  P.     .    . 
Hamilton,  Mrs.  Alexander 
Hathaway  Charles    .    . 

.    .    .151 
.    .     326 
.     .     .  IbO 

Cambreleng,  C.  C  
Campbell,  William  W.  .    . 

.    .  276 
.    .     108 
.    .  352 

Hoffman  Ogden    .    .    .    . 

.     .     195 

.     .     .     93 

.    .    408 

.     .     233 

Clifford  Nathan     .... 

.    .  127 

.     .     .238 

Clay  Cassius  M 

.    355 

.     .    400 

...  126 

Cooper,  James  Fennimore 
Conner  James             ... 

.    .    293 
.    .  897 

.    .     174 

Irving,  Washington    .    . 

.    .    .188 

OCR 

"DinfnrtVi    M    T 

847 

Jefferson   Thomas    .    .    . 

.    .     348 

168 

.    .    .817 

Delavan  Edward  C 

.     83 

Johnson,  Richard  M.     . 

.    .  .  408 

COM'KNTS. 


PAGE. 

Johnson,  Stephen  C 216 

Judson,  Mrs.  Emily 202 

Kemble,  .Governeur 89 

Kent,  James 340 

Kettell,  Thomas  Prentice    .     .     .166 

Knapp,  Shepherd 

Knapp,  Jacob 328 

Lewis,  Dixon  H 88 

Loomis,  Arphaxad 865 

Madison,  Mrs 339 

March,  Alden 255 

Mickle,  Andrew  H. 142 

Morris,  Robert  H 214 

Morris,  George  P 102 

Morse,  Samuel  F.  B 179 

Mott,  Valentine 129 

Noah,  Mordecai  M 402 

Ogden,  David  B 81 

Olcott,  Thomas  W 157 

Parker,  Amasa  J 116 

Paulding,  James  K 143 

Perry,  John  L 836 

Pratt,  Zadock 9 

Purdy,  Elijah  F 198 


Rathbone,  Samuel 
Richards,  T.  Addison 
Ridgway,  Jacob 


403 
299 


PAGE 

Ritchie,  Thomas 346 

Root,  Erastus 247 

Rowe,  Van  Rensselaer      ...     155 

Sanford,  Edward 140 

Sawyer,  William 384 

Sears,  Robert 62 

Spofford,  Paul 252 

Southwick,  Solomon 866 

Staats,  Barent  P 163 

Stanton,  Benjamin 200 

Street,  Alfred  B 97 

Story,  Joseph 302 

Tallmadge,  Frederick  A.  .    .    .     124 
Thorburn,  Grant 181 

Van  Buren,  Martin    .     .     .     .     •       49 
Van  Buren,  John 51 

Walworth,  Reuben  Hyde       .    .       08 

Ward,  Elijah 294 

Ward,  Aaron 144 

Warner,  Thomas 190 

Watson,  Malbone 813 

Webster,  Daniel 275 

Weed,  Thurlow 359 

White,  Edwin 325 

Whiting,  James  R 231 

Whitney,  Eli 407 

Willard,  Emma 224 

Woodhull,  Caleb  S 3fi7 

Wright,  Silas 172 


PREFACE. 


ANDREW  FULLER  once  remarked  that  "he  would  rather 
be  like  the  moon,  which,  although  full  of  spots  and  imper 
fections,  lends  a  useful  light  to  men,  than  a  meteor,  with 
its  dazzling  but  transient  glare,  exciting  only  the  wonder 
of  mankind."  It  was  in  the  spirit  of  this  sentiment  that 
we  compiled  the  following  pages,  embracing  brief  sketches, 
for  the  most  part,  of  the  lives  of  men  who,  by  unwearied 
perseverance,  have  triumphed  over  difficulties.  Born  in 
an  humble  sphere,  which  precluded  the  advantages  of  a 
liberal  education,  we  resolved,  that  although  unable  to 
write  a  learned  work,  we  would  attempt  to  produce  a  use 
ful  one.  Hence,  the  fastidious  critic  who  shall  search  for 
faults,  will  be  rewarded  with  an  abundant  harvest.  If, 
however,  this  volume  shall  serve  as  a  hint  to  those  so  well 
able  to  write  a  better,  a  valuable  end  will  have  been 
attained.  But,  in  the  absence  of  such,  we  flatter  ourself 
that  the  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK,  with  all  its  defects, 
will  not  be  entirely  unacceptable  to  a  discerning  public. 
The  "  needle,"  although  unpolished,  may  yet  serve  to  point 
the  way  to  the  "  pole ;"  and  if  the  examples  set  forth  shall 
cheer  but  one  sufferer,  and  enable  him  to  wait  with 
patience  for  the  bright  dawning  of  to-morrow,  the  labor 
will  not  have  been  in  vain. 


PREFACE. 


It  is  hoped  that  the  work  will  prove  especially  interest 
ing  to  the  young,  inasmuch  as  it  will  furnish  numerous 
illustrations  of  the  fact,  that  "untiring  industry  will  accom 
plish  wonders;"  and  that  with  this  for  his  motto,  the  poor 
clerk  has  become  the  rich  merchant— the  plow  boy  a 
legislator— the  errand  boy  a  minister  plenipotentiary— the 
mechanic  has  exchanged  his  hammer  for  the  speaker's 
mace— and  a  poor  friendless  youth  has  filled  with  honor 
the  presidential  chair. 

From  the  eventful  lives  of  the  subjects  of  these  sketches, 
it  will  be  seen,  that  as  in  the  inorganic,  so  in  the  living  and 
moral  world,  there  is  a  succession  of  changes ;  and  that 
although  many  of  the  bright  hopes  which  may  have  been 
sent  forth  to  meet  the  future,  have  returned,  like  the  dove 
to  the  ark,  having  found  no  resting  place  in  the  weary 
world  ;  yet,  as  has  been  beautifully  observed,  it  is  in  the 
darkest  thunder  cloud  that  the  most  brilliant  lightning 
sleeps,  and  the  tear  which  has  flowed  even  in  the  anguish 
of  despair,  must,  by  the  laws  of  nature,  sooner  or  later  re 
appear  in  the  rainbow.  And  as  the  telescope  has  resolved 
the  golden  mists  of  the  milky  way  into  suns  and  systems, 
so  one  day  shall  the  clouds  of  our  existence  be  converted 
into  stars.  Repeated  troubles  are  sent,  not  as  lightning 
on  the  scathed  tree,  blasting  it  yet  more,  but  as  the  strokes 
of  the  sculptor  on  the  marble  block,  hewing  it  to  the 
image  of  life  and  moral  loveliness.  HE  at  whose  voice 
primeval  darkness  vanished,  and 

The  startled  seas  and  mountains  cold, 
Shone  forth  all  bright  in  blue  and  gold, 
And  cried,  'Tis  day,  'tis  day! 

does  not,  in  the  course  of  His  providence,  permit  affliction 
to  continue  but  for  a  season,  when  he  hangs  out  his  "  bow 
in  the  cloud."  "  Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity."  How 
many  transcendent  talents  would  have  been  lost  to  the 
world,  but  for  reverses. 


PREFACE. 

Rills  o'er  rocky  beds  are  borne, 
Ere  they  gush  in  whiteness: 

Pebbles  are  wave-chased,  and  worn, 
'Ere  they  show  their  brightness. 


Sweetest  gleam  the  morning  flowers, 
When  in  tears  they  waken  ; 

Earth  enjoys  refreshing  showers, 
When  the  boughs  are  shaken. 


It  will  also  be  seen,  that  although  there  are  many  thorns 
in  the  pathway  of  life,  yet  there  are  '*  corals,  and  pearls, 
and  roses,"  which  may  be  gathered  by  those  whose  hearts 
are  attuned  aright. 


Earth  is  not  all  fair,  yet  it  is  not  all  gloom, 
And  the  voice  of  the  grateful  will  tell, 

That  He,  who  allotted  Pain,  Death,  and  the  Tomb, 
Gave  Hope,  Health,  and  the  Bridal  as  well. 


0  hopelessly  rare  is  the  portion  that's  ours, 
And  strange  is  the  path  that  we  take, 

If  there  spring  not  beside  us  a  few  precious  flowers, 
To  soften  the  thorn  and  the  brake. 


The  narratives  will  also  furnish  evidence  of  the  fact, 
that  most  of  those  who  have  successfully  battled  with 
difficulties,  are  married  men.  Indeed,  it  will  readily  be 
granted,  that  as  to  efficiency  in  life,  the  bachelor  cannot  be 
compared  with  the  married  man.  To  provide  for  a  wife 
and  children  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  all  possible  spurs  to 
exertion.  Many  a  man,  says  Cob  belt,  naturally  prone  to 
idleness,  has  become  active  and  industrious,  when  he  saw 
children  growing  up  about  him ;  and  many  a  dull  sluggard 
has  become  a  bright  man  when  roused  to  exertion  by  his 
love.  To  a, young  man,  especially,  nothing  is  so  important 
as  an  attachment  to  some  virtuous  and  amiable  woman, 
whose  image  may  occupy  his  heart,  and  guard  it  from  the 


8  PREFACE. 

pollution  which  besets  it  on  all  sides.  With  justice  ought 
we  to  lay  at  her  feet  the  laurels  which,  without  her, 
would  never  have  been  gained.  It  is  her  image  that 
strings  the  lyre  of  the  poet,  that  animates  the  voice  of  the 
orator,  and  which  urges  on  the  hero  to  deeds  of  noble 
daring;  and  whatever  may  be  the  harsher  feelings  that 
life  may  develope,  there  is  no  one,  however  callous  and 
constrained  he  may  have  become,  whose  brow  will  not 
grow  pensive  at  the  memory  of  FIRST  LOVE. 

"  Bless  thee,  O  woman !  for  dark  were  this  world  with 
out  thee ;  cold  and  wintry  without  the  sunlight  of  thy 
smiles  ;  dry  and  withering  even,  without  thy  tears  ;  harsh 
and  perfumeless  without  the  incense  of  thy  sighs ;  dull  and 
echoless  without  the  music  of  thy  voice  !" 


AMERICAN 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


ZADOCK  PRATT. 

Ho !  all  who  labor,  all  who  strive  . 

Ve  wield  a  lofty  power ; 
Do  with  your  might,  do  with  your  strength, 

Fill  every  golden  hour. 
The  glorious  privilege  TO  DO 

Is  man's  most  noble  dower. 

Autumn  was  upon  us  with  its  "  dyed  garments 
of  glory,"  and  low  purple  clouds  hung  in  festoons 
around  the  steeps,  when  by  the  crimson  light  of  a 
setting  sun,  which  transmuted  every  feature  of  the 
landscape  into  living  gold,  the  writer  first  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  beautiful  village  of  Prattsville,  as  it 
lay  nestled  among  the  mountains,  with  its  water 
falls  and  fountains,  elegant  dwellings,  churches 
and  burial  grounds,  "  green  and  quiet  as  a  land  of 
dreams."  The  extreme  neatness  of  the  place,  and 
the  good  taste  everywhere  apparent,  naturally  led 
to  inquiries  as  to  the  origin  of  this  "  gem  of  the 
wilderness."  With  what  success  these  investiga 
tions  have  been  attended,  will  appear  from  the  fol 
lowing  notice  of  the  worthy  founder. 

The  great  interest  manifested  in  the  remarkable 
career  of  the  Hon.  Zadock  Pratt,  and  the  strong 
desire  of  his  numerous  friends  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  to  obtain  additional  memorials  of  his  life 
and  character,  have  induced  the  writer  to  devote  a 
2  


10  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

much  larger  space  to  this  gentleman  than  was  ori 
ginally  intended.  The  fame  of  his  industry  and 
perseverance,  and  of  his  extensive  and  successful 
enterprises,  is  widely  spread ;  and  thousands  of  in 
telligent  young  men  who  have  read  of  his  wealth 
and  liberality,  are  anxious  to  obtain  further  parti 
culars  of  his  life,  that  they  may  imitate  his  exam 
ple.  The  numerous  individuals  whom  he  has 
aided,  especially  those  of  the  laboring  classes,  and 
the  various  communities  and  societies  who  have 
experienced  the  beneficial  effects  of  his  philanthro 
pic  spirit,  will  welcome  this  tribute  to  his  character 
and  public  services.  The  compiler  has  not  aimed 
at  display,  but  has  endeavored  to  give  a  succinct 
and  connected  narrative  of  an  unassuming  and 
patriotic  citizen,  who,  by  the  force  of  his  native 
genius,  has  risen  from  obscurity  to  distinction,  from 
poverty  to  wealth,  and  from  the  workshop  to  the 
halls  of  Congress;  and  who,  in  whatever  situation 
he  has  been,  whether  as  the  humble  laborious  tan 
ner,  the  opulent  banker,  or  the  industrious  and 
fearless  legislator,  has  ever  maintained  the  character 
of  a  straight  forward,  honest  man.  His  life  admin 
isters  a  strong  rebuke  to  the  many  young  persons 
of  romantic  temperament,  who  look  forward  to  the 
attainment  of  the  highest  ends  of  human  life  with 
out  dreaming  of  the  price  that  must  be  paid  for 
them.  It  affords  an  additional  illustration  of  the 
truth,  that  it  is  impossible  "to  get  something  for 
nothing"  and  that  the  Divine  declaration  "thou 
shalt  eat  thy  bread  by  the  sweat  of  thy  brow"  has 
lost  none  of  its  force. 

Man  must  labor;  nought  is  sleeping 

In  the  dimmest,  brightest  zone, 
From  the  worm  of  painful  creeping 

To  the  seraph  on  the  throne. 

From  the  brief  but  interesting  memoir  recently 
published  in  the  Democratic  Review,   it  appears 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  11 

that  Zadock  Pratt  was  born  on  the  30th  of  October, 
1790,  at  Stephentown,  Rensselaer  county,  New 
York,  and  that  his  family  is  descended  from  the 
noble  band  of  pilgrims,  who  first  broke  ground  on 
the  shores  of  New  England — the  first  persons  of  the 
name  in  this  country  being  Joshua  and  Phineas 
Pratt,  who  came  over  in  the  autumn  of  1623. 
Ephraim,  a  grandson  of  Joshua  Pratt,  jived  to  the 
great  age  of  116  years,  and  died  at  East  Sudbury, 
Massachusetts,  in  May,  1804.  Phineas  Pratt  re 
moved  from  Plymouth  to  Charleston.  John,  an 
other  of  the  family,  came  over  in  1633,  in  company 
with  the  celebrated  Puritan  divines,  John  Cotton, 
and  Thomas  Hooker ;  and  when  the  church,  which 
had  been  forrned  at  Newtown,  Massachusetts,  by 
the  latter,  concluded  to  remove  to  Connecticut,  Mr. 
Pratt  was  one  of  their  number.  They  commenced 
their  exodus  in  the  month  of  June,  1636.  It  was 
to  be  through  a  dreary  and  trackless  wilderness  of 
more  than  a  hundred  miles.  They  had  no  guide 
but  their  compass ;  no  covering  but  the  heavens. 
There  were  about  one  hundred  persons,  men,  wo 
men,  and  children.  They  drove  along  with  them 
one  hundred  and  sixty  head  of  cattle,  subsisting  on 
their  march  through  the  wilderness,  upon  the  wild 
fruits  which  they  found,  and  the  milk  of  their  cows. 
The  females  who  were  ill,  or  too  feeble  to  endure 
the  journey  on  foot,  were  borne  in  litters  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  young  athletic  men.  The  whole 
journey  occupied  nearly  a  fortnight,  during  which 
they  had  no  shelter  but  such  as  they  formed  of  the 
branches  of  the  trees.  From  the  worthy  Puritan 
here  mentioned,  the  families  of  Pratt,  in  Connecti 
cut,  are  mostly- descended. 

The  father  of  the  principal  subject  of  this  notice 
(Zadock  Pratt,  senior,)  was  a  native  of  Saybrook, 
Connecticut;  he  was  a  tanner  and  shoemaker,  and 
when  the  revolutionary  war  broke  out,  he  shouldered 
his  musket,  and  repaired  to  his  country's  standard 


12  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

He  was  engaged  in  several  hard  fought  battles- 
was  twice  taken  prisoner,  and  suffered  much  on 
board  the  prison  ships  at  New  York.  After  the 
close  of  the  war,  he  removed  to  the  state  of  New 
York,  and  died  at  Lexington,  Greene  county,  in 
1829,  at  the  age  of  seventy- four. 

Mrs.  Pratt  survived  her  husband  but  about  three 
years.  She  died  in  1832,  in  the  seventy- fourth  year 
of  her  age.  She  was  a  woman  of  superior  intellect 
and  of  high  moral  worth  ;  and  her  son,  even  at  this 
late  period,  never  speaks  of  her  without  strong  emo 
tion,  as  to  the  excellent  principles  instilled  by  her 
into  his  youthful  mind,  he  justly  attributes  his  sub 
sequent  success. 

Zadock  Pratt  the  younger,  had  no  education 
other  than  that  afforded  by  a  common  school.  Out 
of  school  hours  he  worked  hard  to  pay  his  board, 
and  at  a  very  early  period  he  had  to  encounter 
many  difficulties.  The  first  money  he  ever  earned 
was  by  gathering  huckleberries,  which  he  sold  for 
a  few  cents  per  quart.  From  this  humble  beginning 
he  went  on,  adding  to  his  little  store  as  opportuni 
ties  permitted ;  and  being  well  aware  that  industry 
without  frugality  is  comparatively  useless,  he  hus 
banded  all  he  earned  with  unceasing  care.  Pur 
suing  this  course  with  steadiness  and  resolution, 
and  occupying  all  his  leisure  hours  in  making 
leather  mittens  and  whip  lashes,  for  which  he  found 
a  ready  market,  he  soon  became  possessed  of  thirty 
dollars,  a  large  sum  for  a  working  boy,  and  which 
he  looked  upon  as  the  seed  of  future  riches.  Having 
early  been  taught  the  value  of  economy,  he  found 
as  great  a  pleasure  in  saving  his  little  earnings  as 
did  his  thoughtless  companions  in  spending  theirs. 
While  they  earned  only  for  present  gratification,  he 
was  looking  forward  to  the  period  when  these  trifles 
would  enable  him  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  pros 
perous  business.  He  was  subsequently  apprenticed 
to  a  saddler,  named  Luther  Hayes,  of  Durham 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  13 

Greene  county.  Here  he  frequently  worked  until 
after  nine  o'clock  at  night,  and  very  soon,  as  a  re 
ward  for  his  great  industry,  received  from  his  em 
ployer  the  materials  for  a  saddle,  which  with  the 
same  persevering  toil,  while  the  other  apprentices 
slept,  he  succeeded  in  finishing  before  the  close  of 
the  first  season.  He  then  exchanged  the  saddle  for 
a  watch,  the  first  he  ever  possessed. 

Having  completed  the  term  of  his  apprenticeship, 
he  for  some  time  worked  as  a  journeyman  saddler 
for  his  father  and  brother  at  Lexington  Heights,  for 
two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  week,  and  then  com 
menced  business  for  himself.  His  shop  was  in  one 
end  of  an  old  "bark  house,"  separated  from  the  mill 
by  a  slight  partition  only,  and  through  which  when 
ever  the  door  was  opened,  the  bark  dust  entered  in 
clouds.  Here  he  labored  from  fifteen  to  sixteen 
hours  per  day,  kept  an  accurate  account  of  all  his 
business  operations,  and  yearly  took  a  complete  in 
ventory  of  his  little  property,  a  custom  which  he 
has  ever  since  continued.  Here  he  bought  the  first 
one  horse  waggon  that  had  ever  been  seen  in  that 
wild  country;  and  not  having  at  hand  the  assort 
ment  of  articles  required  in  exchange,  he  sat  up  all 
one  night  and  made  a  saddle,  which  supplied  the 
deficiency.  This  judicious  system  placed  him  at 
once  on  the  road  to  fortune.  The  first  year,  his 
profits  were  over  five  hundred  dollars;  the  next 
year  still  more,  and  they  continued  to  increase. 
Feeling  now  quite  rich,  he  built  a  little  red  shop, 
where  in  the  following  year  his  work  amounted  to 
twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  the  next  year  to  four 
teen  hundred  dollars.  His  grand  secret  was  "  living 
on  little."  His  surplus  earnings  were  devoted  to 
the  purchase  of  an  assortment  of  goods  with  which 
he  furnished  one  end  of  his  shop,  thus  turning  it 
into  a  country  store.  He  still  carried  on  his  work 
at  the  other  end,  and  slept  under  the  counter  upon 
the  rags  which  the  thrifty  housewives  of  the  neigh 


14  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

borhood  exchanged  with  him  for  goods.  It  was 
often  convenient  for  him  to  take  produce  in  the  way 
of  trade;  and  in  the  season  for  it,  he  received  a 
great  deal  of  butter,  most  of  which  was  packed 
down  by  him  after  nine  o'clock  at  night.  On  one 
occasion,  having  taken  a  quantity  of  produce  to 
New  York,  he  arrived  at  Catskill  on  his  return,  be 
tween  four  and  five  o'clock  p.  M.,  and  walked  home, 
a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  the  same  night.  Fear 
less  and  hardy,  he  could,  when  circumstances  re 
quired,  pass  the  whole  night  in  the  woods  with 
impunity,  and  say,  with  the  bold  ranger  of  Sher 
wood, 

My  fortress  is  the  good  green  wood, 

My  shade  the  "hemlock"  tree; 
And  [  know  the  forest  round  me 

As  sailors  know  the  sea. 

Among  the  rules  which  it  may  be  said  formed 
the  business  creed  of  his  life,  were  the  trite  and 
homely,  but  expressive  maxims,  which  he  used  to 
post  up  in  his  workshop  and  store,  and  mark  upon 
his  account  books — "Do  one  thing  at  a  time" — 
"Be  just  and  fear  not" — "Mind  your  own  busi 
ness."  Blessed  with  an  excellent  constitution,  and 
an  iron  frame ;  with  an  indomitable  resolution  and 
perseverance,  which  no  difficulty  could  daunt,  no 
exertion  weary — labor  was  to  him  the  salt  of  his 
existence,  seasoning  his  daily  bread,  and  stimulat 
ing  him  to  further  and  higher  exertions.  From 
this  time  his  course  has  been  uniformly  onward 
and  upward. 

In  1815  Mr.  Pratt  sold  his  store,  just  in  time  to 
escape  the  commercial  revulsion,  which  shortly 
afterward  followed,  and  which  ruined  the  firm 
which  had  purchased  from  him.  He  continued, 
however,  to  work  at  his  trade,  and  also  entered 
into  a  partnership  with  his  brothers,  in  the  business 
of  tanning.  The  eldest,  who  had  a  wife  and  foui 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  15 

children,  boarded  the  others:  and  all  the  expenses 
of  the  joint  family,  including  doctor's  bills  and 
schooling,  were  paid  out  of  the  partnership  funds. 
O  that  the  bachelors  of  the  present  day  were  equally 
just! 

During  the  last  war  with  England,  Mr.  Pratt,  in 
heriting  the  patriotic  spirit  of  his  father,  rallied  with 
others  in  his  vicinity,  to  the  defence  of  New  York, 
and  the  company  to  which  he  was  attached  made 
him  their  steward.  Then,  as  now,  there  was  cor 
ruption  in  office,  and  which  needed  bold,  honest 
men  to  expose  it.  In  the  disbursement  of  the  pub 
lic  money,  great  frauds  were  perpetrated  by  the 
commissioners  and  paymasters  of  the  army.  Mr. 
Pratt  soon  discovered  that  not  a  company  received 
the  full  amount  of  rations  provided  by  law.  So 
far  as  his  company  was  concerned,  he  was  deter 
mined  to  check  the  iniquity  at  once.  Accordingly, 
on  his  next  visit  to  the  commissary,  he  took  with 
him  a  few  choice  men,  on  whom  he  could  rely  in 
case  of  difficulty.  After  receiving  the  usual  allow 
ance  of  provisions,  he  demanded  numerous  other 
articles  to  complete  the  rations  which  he  was  enti 
tled  to  draw.  The  commissary  was  utterly  as 
tounded  at  such  assurance,  and  his  astonishment 
was  fully  equal  to  that  of  the  tyrants  of  the  poor- 
house,  when  Oliver  Twist,  in  the  simplicity  of  his 
heart  presented  his  little  porringer  and  "  asked  for 


more." 


"  I  Jll  tell  you  what !"  thundered  the  commis 
sary,  with  a  scowl:  "take  what  you  have  and  be 
off!" 

But  he  had  to  deal  with  a  man  not  accustomed 
to  "be  off"  without  justice,  and  who  was  firm  as 
a  piece  of  his  well-tanned  sole  leather. 

"All  or  none!"  said  Mr.  Pratt;  "no  cheating 
soldiers,  sir !" 

The  commissary  trembled  with  rage,  and  if  looks 
could  have  done  it,  the  subject  of  this  memoir 


16  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

would  long  ago  have  slept  quietly  in  his  mother 
earth — 

At  his  head  a  green  grass  turf, 
And  at  his  feet  a  stone. 

But  finally  the  peculating  officer  concluded  to  do 
justice,  and  the  proper  supply  continued  to  be  fur 
nished  as  long  as  Mr.  Pratt  was  steward,  although 
his  successor  was  unable  to  obtain  it. 

In  1821  Mr.  Pratt  received  a  commission  as  cap 
tain  in  the  5th  regiment  of  artillery,  which  in  1823 
he  resigned,  on  receiving  the  appointment  of  colo 
nel  in  the  116th  regiment  of  infantry  of  the  state  of 
New  York.  In  this  position  he  was  prompt,  ener 
getic,  and  liberal — a  good  disciplinarian,  and  con 
tributed  much  to  the  improvement  of  the  corps  to 
which  he  was  attached.  When  in  command  of  his 
company,  he  furnished  a  uniform  for  the  whole,  and 
being  in  want  of  a  suitable  field  piece,  he  applied 
to  the  governor,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  one  of 
the  twelve  remaining  to  be  disposed  of,  though 
there  were  thirty  applicants  before  him.  He  pro 
posed  to  Governor  Clinton,  that  he  would  mount 
the  cannon  at  his  own  expense.  "  No,  no,  young 
man,"  said  the  governor,  "you  have  already  done 
enough  without  that."  He  provided  the  regiment 
under  his  command  with  all  their  music,  at  an  ex 
pense  of  some  $250. 

In  1826  he  resigned  this  latter  commission,  hav 
ing  no  great  predilection  for  a  military  life,  although 
whilst  engaged  in  it  he  displayed  his  usual  energy, 
doing  nothing  by  halves. 

At  the  close  of  his  military  career,  in  order  to  gra 
tify  his  regiment,  he  gave  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  pounds  of  powder  for  the  purpose  of  re-enacting 
the  memorable  battle  of  Lodi,  he  himself  taking  an 
active  part  in  it.  The  place  selected  was  a  bridge 
at  Windham,  admirably  calculated  for  the  ma- 
nouvres.  The  "battle"  went  off  with  great  eclat, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  1 

to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  soldiers,  and  the 
delight  of  the  thousands  of  spectators  who  had  as 
sembled  from  all  parts  of  the  county.  On  another 
occasion,  when  a  sham  battle  was  fought  at  Lex 
ington  Heights,  Col.  Pratt  ordered  a  captain  of 
infantry  to  march  round  the  meeting  house  and 
open  a  fire  upon  the  artillery. 

"But,  Colonel,"  said  the  latter,  "shall  I  not  be 
in  danger?" 

"  O  no,"  replied  the  Colonel,  "  if  you  are,  you  can 
jump  up  behind  me." 

With  this  assurance  of  safety,  the  captain  drew 
his  sword,  sprang  like  a  tiger  from  his  jungle,  and 
giving  the  word  to  his  men,  a  more  murderous  fire 
was  opened  upon  the  unfortunate  artillery,  than 
has  ever  been  recorded  in  the  annals  of  "infantry." 
Nothing  but  the  most  devoted  patriotism  could 
have  enabled  the  "  enemy"  to  withstand  it. 

In  the  winter  of  1839,  Col.  Pratt  and  his  elder 
brother,  planned  an  adventure  to  Canada,  of  which 
the  Colonel  took  charge.  He  was  accompanied  by 
three  of  his  neighbors,  with  an  equal  number  of 
teams,  laden  with  leather,  harness,  and  dried  ap 
ples.  They  went  to  Kingston,  and  from  thence  to 
Bellville,  where  they  remained  until  spring.  While 
at  Kingston,  their  landlord  picked  a  quarrel  with 
them,  and  one  of  the  party,  who  had  drank  too 
much,  was  determined  to  fight  him.  A  crowd  of 
town  loafers,  who  had  gathered  round,  showed 
by  their  conduct  that  the  first  blow  would  be  the 
signal  for  a  general  attack,  in  which  case  the  small 
company  of  Americans  would  have  been  overpow 
ered  by  numbers,  and  plundered  of  their  goods,  be 
sides  risking  their  lives.  Col.  Pratt  saw  at  once 
the  danger  of  their  situation,  and,  entrusting  their 
belligerent  comrade  with  the  trunk  which  con 
tained  all  their  money  in  silver,  busied  himself  in 
getting  the  teams  ready  for  a  start.  As  was  antici 
pated,  the  trunk  of  specie  kept  the  peace,  for  the 
o 


1  8  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

holder  could  not  fight  without  letting  it  go,  which 
he  dared  not  do,  lest  it  should  be  stolen.  By  this 
quick  sighted  manouvre  of  the  Colonel,  the  threat 
ened  collision  was  prevented  and  the  property 
secured.  When  will  nations  remember  that  they 
cannot  fight  without  endangering  the  safety  of  the 
"trunk  of  specie?" 

After  disposing  of  his  goods  at  Bellville,  Colonel 
Pratt  went  with  a  couple  of  traders  to  Rice  Lake, 
for  the  purpose  of  buying  furs  from  the  Indians. 
His  companions  took  the  usual  Yankee  notions, 
whilst  he  carried  a  knapsack  well  stored  with 
bread,  butter,  and  salted  raw  pork,  a  mitten  full  of 
silver  dollars,  and  a  bag  of  gold,  sewed  in  a  pocket 
inside  his  shirt,  together  with  $'2000  in  bills. 

"At  noon,"  said  he  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  "we 
mounted  on  an  old  oak  of  enormous  size,  which 
had  been  lying  there  for  many  years,  and  which 
seemed  like  a  patriarch  of  the  forest.  I  made  a 
dinner  on  raw  pork,  and  bread  and  butter,  and  a 
good  dinner  it  was,  after  having  traveled  through 
the  snow  since  very  early  in  the  morning.  After 
dinner  we  went  due  north,  but  towards  evening  we 
lost  our  way,  and  wandered  about  till  night.  We 
now  struck  up  a  fire  in  an  old  maple  top,  and 
supped  upon  a  piece  of  pork,  cooked  upon  the  end 
of  a  stick,  and  washed  down  with  cold  tea.  We 
next  looked  about  for  a  lodging.  Above  was  a 
clear  cold  sky,  beneath  was  the  clean  white  snow. 
I  would  willingly  have  given  some  of  my  gold 
eagles  for  a  barn  to  sleep  in.  Making  a  virtue  of 
necessity,  I  got  together  some  pieces  of  bark,  and 
laid  them  down  upon  the  snow.  I  next  broke  up 
some  bunches  of  maple  twigs,  (as  there  were  none 
of  my  favorite  hemlock  boughs  to  keep  off  the  wind 
and  cold,)  and  laid  them  round  the  bark.  Then 
taking  rny  silver  dollars  for  a  pillow,  drawing  on 
rny  fur  cap,  and  pulling  the  bearskin  cape  of  my 
coat  over  my  head,  I  went  to  sleep,  and  slept 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  1  (J 

soundly  until  morning,  suffering  no  inconvenience 
whatever.  The  next  day  we  pursued  our  journey, 
wandering  first  one  way  and  then  another,  until 
about  one  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  discovered 
the  Indian  track,  and  the  same  night  reached  a 
hut.  The  squaw  was  making  sugar,  while  John 
Snake,  the  Indian,  was  off  after  beaver.  My  com 
panions,  however,  succeeded  in  purchasing  some 
skins  of  the  squaw.  ,  Their  keg  of  whiskey  was  hid 
away,  and  they  took  only  a  small  quantity  with 
them,  which  was  largely  diluted  with  water. 
This  they  said  was  a  necessary  practice,  for  the 
squaw  would  sell  but  a  few  of  the  skins  at  a  time, 
and  required  to  be  treated  at  each  bargain;  so  that 
notwithstanding  the  weakness  of  the  liquor,  she 
soon  became  very  drunk.  This  trading  was  all 
they  were  able  to  accomplish  at  that  place,  for 
when  John  Snake  returned,  having  been  unsuccess 
ful  in  his  hunt,  he  brought  no  furs." 

This  expedition,  although  upon  the  whole  suc 
cessful,  effectually  cured  Col.  Pratt  of  any  desire 
for  further  trade  with  the  Indians.  On  his  return 
he  came  by  the  way  of  Utica,  having  on  his  old 
bearskin  great  coat,  the  remainder  of  his  apparel 
being  equally  shabby,  and  very  much  worn.  His 
money,  in  gold  and  silver,  was  enclosed  in  a  bag, 
and  made  up  like  a  knapsack.  On  the  arrival  of 
the  stage  at  the  principal  hotel  in  Albany,  the  land 
lord  came  out,  and  to  the  passengers  generally,  was 
extremely  polite,  asking  them  "  how  they  did?"— 
"  what  he  could  do  for  them  ?" — "  what  they  would 
have?"  etc.  But  when  our  rough  looking  traveler 
alighted,  "  mine  host"  eyed  him  askance.  There 
was  no  "how  d'ye  do?"  fora  poorly  clad  customer. 
So  Col.  Pratt  took  his  bag  of  money  under  his  arm, 
and,  uninvited,  proceeded  to  the  bar  room,  whilst 
the  landlord  was  waiting  upon  the  gentlemen,  into 
the  parlor.  On  his  reappearance,  the  Colonel  in 
quired  if  he  could  be  accommodated  with  lodging, 


20  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

as   he  was  desirous  of  going  down  the  river  by 
the  boat  in  the  morning. 

"  I  suppose  you  can,"  was  the  gruff  reply,  the 
speaker  no  doubt  wondering  at  the  presumption  of 
such  a  meanly  dressed  man,  in  thus  daring  to  ob 
trude  himself  among  "his  betters,"  at  the  "first 
hotel,"  or  perhaps  thinking  of  the  wise  regulations 
of  a  certain  eating  house  in  London,  where  the 
knives  and  forks  are  chained  to  the  table. 

"  Can  I  have  supper?"  was  the  next  question. 

In  a  low  growl,  the  answer  came,  "  I  suppose 
you  can." 

Col.  Pratt  having  previously  placed  his  knapsack 
in  the  bar,  called  the  attention  of  the  landlord  to  it, 
and  requested  that  it  might  be  placed  out  of  sight. 

"  Where  is  it,  and  what  is  it  ?"  was  the  snappish 
reply. 

This  was  very  soon  explained,  and  the  landlord, 
on  lifting  the  heavy  bag  of  money,  became  suddenly 
transformed  into  Chesterfield  himself,  and  so  bur 
dened  the  Colonel  with  his  politeness,  that  the  next 
morning  he  found  it  very  difficult  to  get  away. 
This  anecdote  has  been  frequently  related  by  the 
Colonel,  with  perfect  good  feeling  toward  the  land 
lord,  as  he  did  what  many  others,  who  believe  that 
"the  coat  makes  the  man,"  would  have  done  under 
similar  circumstances.  "But,"  says  the  Colonel, 
"  it  taught  me  that  if  I  had  money  I  had  friends." 

Arriving  at  Catskill.  on  his  way  home,  he  was 
asked  by  Mr.  Hall,  the  cashier  of  the  bank,  if  he 
had  heard  from  home.  "  No,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Your  tannery  is  burnt  to  the  ground,"  said  the 
former. 

This  was  a  heavy  loss,  and  one  which  would 
have  effectually  discouraged  a  less  energetic  man ; 
but  Col.  Pratt  observed,  "Well,  thank  God,  with 
industry,  economy,  and  good  health,  we  can  build 
another;"  which  he  and  his  brother  accordingly 
did,  on  a  much  more  approved  plan.  How  many 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  2i 

would  have  sat  down  in  despair,  saying,  "it  is  of 
QO  use  striving  for  I  am  born  to  bad  luck" — instead 
of  adopting  the  motto  which  solves  the  problem  of 
heroes — "  PRESS  ON." 

Col.  Pratt,  in  connection  with  his  brother,  car 
ried  on  his  business  at  Lexington,  until  1824,  when, 
determining  upon  seeking  a  larger  field  of  opera 
tions  in  manufacturing,  he  closed  his  business  at 
that  place,  purchased  the  tract  and  water  power 
now  included  in  the  village  which  bears  his  name, 
and  commenced  his  operations.  The  forest  on 
either  hand,  to  the  very  tops  of  mountains,  was  a 
dense  growth  of  hemlock,  adapted  to  his  purposes; 
communication  was  easy  with  New  York,  and  he 
at  once  saw  that  here  was  the  spot  for  him  to  es 
tablish  a  mammoth  tannery.  He  lost  no  time  in 
commencing  operations,  and  his  labors  were  crown 
ed  with  the  most  complete  success.  His  establish 
ment  soon  gave  employment  in  various  ways  to 
more  than  200  men,  to  all  of  whom  he  gave  encou 
ragement  to  settle  around  him.  His  tannery  was 
500  feet  long,  containing  over  300  vats,  or  about 
46,000  cubic  feet  of  room  for  tanning  operations; 
requiring  a  consumption  annually  of  1,500  cords 
of  wood,  and  6,000  cords  of  hemlock  bark,  in  the 
manufacture  of  60,000  sides  of  sole  leather,  which 
he  annually  sent  to  market — or,  say  more  than  a 
million  of  sides  in  the  last  twenty  years — employ 
ing  a  capital  of  over  $250,000  a  year,  without  a 
single  litigated  lawsuit. 

The  plan  he  adopted  to  avoid  litigation,  deserves 
general  imitation.  It  was  as  follows: 

For  many  years  it  has  been  the  practice  of  the 
best  newspapers  of  the  principal  cities  to  publish 
brief  notices  of  the  decisions  of  the  courts.  These 
notices  Col.  Pratt  has  always  been  careful  to  pre 
serve,  and  he  has  a  large  book  filled  with  them, 
and  so  arranged  that  he  can  easily  refer  to  them. 
By  daily  reading,  he  thus  acquired  a  sufficient 


22  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

knowledge  of  the  law,  to  enable  him  to  steer  cleai 
of  the  shoals  and  quicksands  upon  which  so  many 
have  been  wrecked.  From  these  memoranda  he 
discovered  one  fact,  which  if  duly  considered,  would 
tend  much  to  deter  young  men  from  encountering 
the  glorious  uncertainty  of  the  law.  It  is  "that  of 
the  whole  number  of  reported  cases  which  had 
been  affirmed  or  reversed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  up  to  1830,  four  hundred  and 
twenty-five  had  been  affirmed,  and  three  hundred 
and  twenty  nine  reversed — the  affirmations  being 
little  more  than  one-half. 

As  the  tide  of  prosperous  business  poured  in  upon 
him,  his  friends  and  neighbors  also  nourished.  The 
town  was  rapidly  settled  and  improved ;  streets 
were  laid  out,  and  ornamental  trees  planted  by  his 
own  hands;  schools  were  established,  churches 
built,  and  houses  and  stores  multiplied,  until  the 
village  has  become  one  of  the  most  pleasant  and 
flourishing  settlements  in  the  region  of  the  Cats- 
kills.  More  than  one  hundred  of  the  houses  were 
erected  by  Col.  Pratt  himself;  and  his  munificence 
is  seen  in  all  the  churches  and  public  buildings  in 
the  place,  of  which  more  than  one-third  the  cost 
was  defrayed  from  his  own  pocket. 

In  the  disposal  of  his  lands  he  never  speculated 
upon  the  wants  of  the  poor,  having  always  sold  his 
spare  lots  at  a  reasonable  price ;  and  he  has  furnish 
ed  many  with  a  house  which  their  unaided  exer 
tions  could  never  have  procured.  He  was,  how 
ever,  always  careful  to  dispose  of  no  lot,  but  on  the 
express  condition,  that  no  ardent  spirits  should  be 
sold  on  the  premises. 

The  excellent  quality  of  the  manufacture  of  Col. 
Pratt — a  result  which  he  attained  by  the  adoption 
of  every  useful  improvement  in  the  art  of  tanning 
leather — secured  him  a  never  failing  market.  In 
Ib37,  he  and  his  partner  (Col.  Watson)  received  the 
Silver  Medal,  of  the  New  York  Institute,  for  the 

[ : 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  23 

best  specimen  of  hemlock  tanned  sole  leather — the 
first  medal  ever  awarded  for  that  manufacture.  In 
1839,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  American 
Institute;  and  in  1845,  at  the  New  York  State  Fair, 
he  was  awarded  the  first  premium  in  a  Diploma. 
He  glories  in  the  name  of  a  mechanic,  and  is  proud 
to  acknowledge  the  quiet  and  laborious  occupation, 
in  the  diligent  pursuit  of  which  he  has  been  emi 
nently  successful,  and  has  earned  a  name  and  sta 
tion  among  his  countrymen. 

In  1840,  retiring  in  part  from  the  more  active 
business  of  his  manufactory,  Mr.  Pratt  employed  a 
portion  of  his  capital  in  the  establishment  of  a  bank 
at  Prattsville,  under  the  free  banking  law  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  A  capital  of  $100,000,  secured 
in  six  per  cent,  stocks  of  the  United  States,  and  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  is  thus  employed,  and  has 
been  found  extremely  useful  in  that  mountainous 
region,  its  business  averaging  nearly  $1,000,000  an 
nually.  It  is  one  of  the  few  institutions,  the  bills 
of  which  are  kept  actually  at  par  by  redemption  in 
New  York  city. 

Col.  Pratt' s  first  step  in  public  life  may  be  said 
to  have  been  his  election  on  the  democratic  ticket, 
for  the  State  of  New  York,  as  an  elector  of  Presi 
dent  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  in 
November,  1836.  He  recorded  his  vote,  with 
those  of  his  brother  State  electors,  for  his  neighbor 
and  friend,  Mr.  Van  Buren. 

In  November,  1836,  he  was  elected  one  of  the 
Representatives  in  Congress  for  the  eighth  Congres 
sional  district,  in  the  State  of  New  York.  He  suc 
ceeded  in  this  election,  by  a  majority  of  twenty- 
seven  hundred  votes,  the  largest  majority,  we  be 
lieve,  that  was  ever  given  in  that  district.  He 
received  very  nearly  the  unanimous  vote  of  the 
town  of  Prattsville. 

Of  his  services  in  Congress,  says  the  Review, 
it  is  sufficient  to  say  that,  in  that  body,  he  earned 


24  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOR. 

the  character  of  a  Working  Man ;  that  he  gained 
the  respect  of  ail  parties  in  Washington ;  and  in 
his  case  was  demonstrated  the  advantages  which 
arise  from  sending  men  of  practical  knowledge  and 
business  habits  to  Congress ;  and  how  much  that  is 
really  important  to  the  people,  may  be  performed 
by  one  such  man,  who  is  more  desirous  to  act  than 
to  speak,  and  who  cares  less  for  the  reputation  of 
perfecting  a  useful  measure,  than  the  solid  satisfac 
tion  of  feeling  that  he  has  been  instrumental  in  its 
accomplishment. 

In  July,  1738,  Col.  Pratt  published  an  address  to 
his  constituents,  declining  a  reelection  to  Congress. 
In  1842,  he  yielded  to  their  request,  and  was  cho 
sen  to  represent  the  eleventh  Congressional  district, 
composed  of  the  counties  of  Greene  and  Columbia. 
On  resuming  his  seat  in  Congress,  his  inquiry  was 
not,  "  How  can  I  make  the  most  noise,  or  gain  the 
greatest  eclat ?"•  —but,  "How  can  I  do  the  most 
work?"  He  never  undertook  to  "define  his  posi 
tion/'  or  to  make  a  speech  for  Buncombe.  He 
made,  indeed,  few  speeches,  and  they  were  com 
monly  brief  and  plain  statements  of  facts,  which 
he  knew  could  be  relied  upon.  The  value  in  any 
public  body  of  men,  who  are  patient  and  laborious 
in  their  search  after  truth,  is  beyond  all  estimate. 
In  the  words  of  one  of  our  ablest  political  journals, 
it  may  truly  be  said,  that  "  Colonel  Pratt  devoted 
himself  to  the  utility  of  legislation.  He  has  given 
his  attention  to  political  objects  designed  to  advance 
science,  the  arts,  commercial  intercourse,  the  dis 
semination  of  useful  knowledge,  and  to  facilitate 
the  practicable  labors  of  the  departments.  Few 
men  have  accomplished  as  much  in  these  import 
ant  respects  as  he  has  done  in  the  course  of  four 
years  congressional  service;  and  he  has  laid  the 
foundations  of  good  that  will  mature  gradually 
hereafter,  as  views  and  suggestions,  truly  enlight 
ened,  and  worthy  a  truly  republican  people  and 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  25 

government,  shall  be  brought  to  the  popular  consi 
deration  and  action  of  Congress." 

Representing  a  portion  of  the  great  agricultural 
State  of  New  York — from  his  youth  taught  to  look 
jpon  the  farming  interest  as  the  paramount  pursuit 
in  this  country,  and  coming  from  a  district  where  a 
very  large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  find  their 
profession,  their  pleasures  and  their  profits  in  the 
noble  employment  of  cultivating  the  soil,  it  must 
be  supposed  that  the  practical  and  utilitarian  mind 
of  Col.  Pratt  would  dedicate  a  due  share  of  its  at 
tention  to  the  interests  of  agriculture.  He  origin 
ated  the  proposition,  which  was  finally  adopted  by 
Congress,  providing  for  the  introduction,  through 
our  consuls  and  national  vessels,  of  foreign  seeds 
and  plants,  and  for  their  gratuitous  distribution  to 
all  portions  of  the  country,  through  the  medium  of 
the  patent  office.  The  beneficial  effects  of  this 
measure  have  already  begun  to  be  appreciated. 

In  1842,  Col.  Pratt  delivered  an  address  before 
the  Mechanics'  Institute  at  Catskill,  replete  with 
excellent  sentiments;  and  in  1845,  at  the  great  fair 
of  the  Greene  County  Agricultural  Society,  at  Cairo, 
he  delivered  a  sound,  practical  address,  which  was 
extensively  copied  by  the  press.  Few  productions 
of  the  kind  ever  received  more  general  commenda 
tion,  or  a  wider  circulation. 

The  personal  habits  of  Col.  Pratt,  his  attachment 
to  the  pleasures  of  home,  and  to  the  enjoyment  of 
the  natural  delights  of  the  family  fireside,  may  be 
learned  from  the  following  particulars  of  his  do 
mestic  life. 

His  first  wife  was  Miss  Beda  Dickerman,  of 
Hampden,  Ct,  to  whom  he  was  united  Oct.  18th, 
1818.  She  was  a  lovely  woman,  of  amiable  temper 
and  true  piety;  but,  the  winter  proving  too  severe 
for  her  constitution,  she  died  of  consumption,  on 
the  19th  of  April,  1819. 


26  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

Oh  !  mighty  death — in  such 
We  must  not  build  our  hopes — in  form  of  clay 

We  treasure  up  too  much; 
For  'tis  a  fearful  thing  to  love  what  thau  may'st  touch. 

After  four  years  of  mourning,  he  solaced  his  grief 
by  taking  the  hand  of  her  sister,  who  had  won  his 
affection  hy  the  resemblance  she  bore,  in  her  vir 
tues  and  beauty,  to  the  deceased.  But  again  was 
his  dwelling  turned  into  mourning  by  the  entrance 
of  the  insidious  prime  minister  of  death,  consump 
tion,  and  his  second  wife  died,  at  Lexington, 
Greene  county,  on  the  22d  of  April,  1826,  in  the 
31st  year  of  her  age. 

Col.  Pratt  was  united  to  his  third  wife,  Miss  Abi 
gail  P.  Watson,  daughter  of  Wheeler  Watson,  Esq., 
on  the  12th  of  October,  1827.  He  now  looked  for 
ward  to  an  old  age,  solaced  by  the  wife  of  his 
youth;  but  a  voice  from  the  invisible  world  whis 
pered  "come  away,"  and  his  companion  entered 
the  blessed  land,  where  sorrow  is  unknown.  Al 
though  bowed  to  the  earth  with  this  heavy  trial, 
which  he  bore  with  Christian  resignation,  he  felt 
grateful  for  the  possession  of  children,  upon  whom 
he  could  rally  and  concentrate  his  affections — to 
ward  whom  he  had  duties  to  perform — and  for 
whom  it  was  a  pleasure  to  live,  and  to  exercise  the 
energies  of  his  mind.  They  furnished  motives  for 
continued  industry  and  perseverance;  rendered  life 
still  a  blessing,  and  the  hopes  of  the  father  cas.t  a 
ray  of  sunlight  into  the  future.  One  of  his  promis 
ing  children,  however,  followed  her  mother  to  the 
grave  a  few  months  afterwards.  The  survivors,  a 
son  and  an  amiable  daughter,  are  still  spared,  and 
furnish  every  hope  that  the  latter  years  of  their  pa 
rent  may  be  crowned  with  the  supreme  joy  of  a 
father's  heart,  viz:  the  knowledge  that  his  exam 
ple,  his  care,  and  his  anxieties,  have  not  been 
wasted.  May  his  fond  wishes  be  fulfilled  to  the 
utmost. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK  21 

Col.  Pratt  entered  into  wedlock  a  fourth  time,  on 
the  16th  of  March,  1835,  when  he  married  Miss 
Mary  E.  Watson,  a  sister  of  his  third  wife. 

Alluding  to  his  married  life,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend, 
he  says :  "  It  has  rarely  fallen  to  the  lot  of  man  to 
say  that  he  has  had  three  of  the  best  women  for  his 
wives,  and  that  he  is  now  living  with  the  fourth, 
equally  good.  It  may  be  most  truly  said  of  my  de 
ceased  wives,  that  they  were  Christian  companions, 
with  whom  I  lived  in  the  greatest  conjugal  happi 
ness  ;  and  of  my  present  most  amiable  consort,  that 
she  is  in  every  way  worthy  to  succeed  them  in  the 
affections  of  a  devoted  husband,  and  every  way 
calculated  to  promote  his  happiness." 

From  his  youth  to  the  present  time,  Col.  Pratt 
has  adhered  to  the  good  old  rule,  "  early  to  bed  and 
early  to  rise,"  always  retiring  by  nine  o'clock,  and 
rising  with  the  sun.  The  writer  once  heard  him 
remark,  that  he  never  lost  a  single  night's  sleep  in 
the  course  of  his  life.  How  many  dreaming  aspi 
rants  for  wealth  and  honor  are  there,  who  can  only 
speak  of  sunrise  as  an  historical  fact,  never  attested 
by  their  own  observation ! 

The  following  incidents,  selected  from  many 
others  equally  interesting,  will  serve  to  exhibit  the 
character  of  the  subject  of  our  notice: 

When  the  destructive  fire  occurred  at  Hudson,  in 
1844,  reducing  many  families  to  great  destitution 
and  suffering,  Col.  Pratt  immediately  sent  $200  for 
their  relief.  It  was  the  first  money  received,  and 
afforded  another  illustration  of  the  maxim,  that  "he 
who  gives  soon,  gives  twice." 

In  1845,  the  Bible  Society  of  Greene  County  fur 
nished  a  Bible  to  every  family  which  did  not  pos 
sess  one.     The  expense  of  this  distribution,  in  his 
own  town,  was  defrayed  by  Col.  Pratt,   who  also 
gave  a  large  and  handsome  copy  for  the  pulpit  of 
each  church. 

In  the  fall  of  1845,  as  he  was  passing  up  the  road 


28 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


from  Prattsville  to  visit  a  neighbor,  he  was  accosted 
by  a  lad  who  said  he  had  traveled  on  foot  from 
New  York  city,  having  gone  there  to  assist  a  drover 
with  a  flock  of  sheep — that  on  reaching  the  city, 
his  employer  having  made  an  unfortunate  specula 
tion,  cruelly  turned  him  adrift  without  a  cent,  to 
find  his  way  home  at  Oneonta.  The  poor  fellow 
said  "he  felt  rather  bad  about  it;  but,  upon  the 
whole,  as  he  had  got  along  so  far,  he  thought  it 
was  of  no  use  to  despond."  Col.  Pratt,  desirous  of 
encouraging  the  boy's  resolution  never  to  yield  to 
despondency  at  any  ill  luck  or  injustice,  gave  him 
a  check  on  his  bank,  for  a  sum  of  money.  Having 
with  him  neither  pen  nor  ink,  the  Colonel  picked 
up  a  flat  stone  and  scratched  the  check  upon  its 
surface.  This  being  presented,  was  paid  at  the 
counter  of  the  bank. 

He  has  often  remarked,  that  although  sometimes 
imposed  upon  by  his  acquaintances,  he  could  gene 
rally  determine  the  trust- worthiness  of  a  stranger  at 
first  sight. 

In  1843,  soon  after  the  establishment  of  his  bank, 
a  drover  came  along  with  about  two  hundred  cat 
tle.  He  entered  the  bank  and  asked  for  Col.  Pratt. 
"  There  he  is,"  replied  the  cashier.  The  drover 
then  stated  that  he  was  short  of  money,  and  desired, 
although  a  stranger,  to  borrow  $100,  until  he  could 
drive  his  cattle  to  Westchester  county,  when  he 
would  remit  the  amount. 

"Let  him  have  it,  cashier,"  said  Col.  Pratt,  "  the 
man  has  a  good  countenance." 

"  But,"  said  the  stranger,  "  you  do  not  know  my 
name  " 

"  We  shall  soon  see  that,  when  you  sign  the  re 
ceipt,"  was  the  reply,  as  Col.  P.  walked  out  to  at 
tend  to  other  business. 

The  honorable  drover  was  Mr.  Oscar  Brown,  of 
Westchester,  who  faithfully  kept  his  word. 

It  was  always  the  custom  of  Col.  Pratt  to  say  to 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

his  workmen,  "come  on,"  instead  of  "go  on;"'  in 
variably  taking  upon  himself  those  parts  of  the  labor 
which  were  most  disagreeable,  and  which  required 
the  greatest  exposure.  He  has  thus  frequently 
stood  in  water  all  day,  even  in  very  severe  wea 
ther.  His  temperate  habits  and  hardy  frame  pre 
served  his  health  unimpaired,  amidst  hardships 
which  could  have  been  borne  but  by  few.  At  one 
time,  during  the  building  of  a  dam,  a  new  hand, 
who  had  not  yet  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  es 
tablishment,  exhibited  so  much  indolence  as  to  at 
tract  the  Colonel's  especial  attention.  After  dinner 
the  latter  took  a  coffee  pot,  and  with  a  most  com 
miserative  look,  said : 

"Here,  my  friend;  perhaps  you  would  like  to 
take  this  coffee  pot  and  catch  grasshoppers,  to  feed 
my  fish  in  the  artificial  pond  yonder,  rather  than  to 
work  with  the  rest  ?" 

"Certainly,  sir,"  said  the  drone,  as  he  took 
the  coffee  pot,  and,  with  the  agility  of  a  grasshopper, 
threw  himself  over  the  fence  into  an  adjoining 
meadow,  no  doubt  wondering  why  he  had  so  soon 
become  a  favorite. 

Grasshopper  No.  1  was  soon  caught  and  deposit 
ed  in  the  coffee  pot,  "  for  safe  keeping,  and  other 
purposes."  Grasshopper  No.  2  soon  followed ;  but, 
as  No.  2  went  in,  No.  1  jumped  out;  thus  mimick 
ing  office  holders  under  different  administrations. 
But,  nothing  daunted,  our  hero  performed  wonder 
ful  feats  of  agility  in  seizing  his  prey,  exhibiting  the 
most  surprising  presence  of  mind  in  shutting  down 
the  lid  of  the  pot  just  at  the  critical  moment,  catch 
ing  his  prisoners  "  on  the  hip."  He  was  not,  how 
ever  always  successful;  and,  after  several  consecu 
tive  vexatious  mishaps,  he  sat  down  to  repose  on  the 
laurels  previously  won.  But,  observing  a  very  pe 
culiar  expression  upon  the  faces  of  the  workmen,  a 
new  idea  entered  his  brain,  and  he  quickly  compre 
hended  the  joke.  In  a  great  rage,  he  immediately 


30  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

arose,  dashed  the  coffee  pot  to  the  ground,  strode 
away  with  disdain,  and  made  tracks  to  parts  un 
known.  To  "work  or  catch  grasshoppers,"  has 
now  become  a  proverb  in  the  tannery. 

While  in  Congress,  Col.  Pratt  having  made  some 
motion  relative  to  the  removal  of  the  unsightly 
building  in  which  the  statue  of  Washington  was 
immured,  Mr.  C.  J.  Ingersoll,  in  a  vein  of  pleasant 
ry,  observed,  "that  the  honorable  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  public  buildings  would  do  well  first 
to  enclose  the  statue  of  the  Indian  lady,  adjoining 
that  of  Columbus,  the  extreme  scantiness  of  whose 
drapery  had  been  severely  commented  upon  by  the 
press. 

Col.  Pratt  instantly  replied,  that  so  delicate  a 
duty  could  with  peculiar  fitness  be  assigned  to  the 
gentleman  himself,  who,  if  rumor  spoke  correctly, 
was  a  great  adept  at  "  enclosing"  the  fair  sex. 

At  this  happy  retort,  the  house  was  convulsed 
with  laughter,  it  being  well  known  that  the  head 
of  the  committee  on  foreign  affairs  held  it  as  a 
sacred  duty  to  his  country,  and  to  himself,  never  to 
run  away  from  the  ladies,  but  on  the  contrary,  when 
opportunity  offered, 

To  draw 

In  one  long  kiss,  their  whole  soul  through 
Their  Jips,  as  sunlight  drinketh  dew. 

On  the  face  of  the  high  rocks  at  the  entrance  of 
Prattsville,  the  eye  of  the  stranger  is  attracted  by 
several  carved  figures.  Their  origin  is  as  follows: 

A  stone  cutter,  seeking  employment,  called  upon 
Col.  Pratt,  and  proposed  to  cut  upon  the  rock,  a 
bust  of  the  Colonel,  together  with  views  of  the  tan 
nery,  etc.  Struck  with  the  novelty  of  the  idea,  and 
being  ever  ready  to  encourage  men  willing  to  labor, 
the  proposition  was  assented  to,  and  how  well  the 
artist  has  succeeded  is  evident  to  every  beholder. 
Some,  ignorant  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  3  1 

case,  have  attributed  vanity  as  the  motive;  but 
Col.  Pratt  had  a  more  elevated  object  in  view.  He 
looked  forward  to  the  time  when,  from  the  rapid 
consumption  of  timber,  the  whole  region  will  be 
left  without  a  tree,  and  when  the  traveler,  a  centu 
ry  hence,  will  gaze  with  wonder  upon  an  inscrip 
tion  that,  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
a  million  of  hides  of  sole  leather  were  tanned  from 
bark  gathered  on  the  spot,  by  Zadock  Pratt,  in 
twenty  years. 

Col.  Pratt' s  services  in  Congress  were  eminent 
ly  practical.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  advo 
cates  of  the  cheap  postage  reform,  moving  a 
resolution  to  that  effect  in  1838;  and  the  in 
formation  and  statistics  which  he  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  question,  contributed  in  no  small  de 
gree  to  the  ultimate  success  of  the  measure. 
He  submitted  a  valuable  report  on  the  improve 
ment  of  the  public  grounds  at  Washington,  to 
gether  with  a  beautiful  design,  by  himself,  for  a 
national  monument  to  Washington.  He  also  advo 
cated,  with  hearty  zeal,  the  remission  of  the  fine, 
paid  by  the  late  President  Jackson.  In  both  con 
gresses  of  which  he  was  a  member,  he  was  an 
•earnest  advocate  of,  and  introduced  the  bill  for  the 
establishment  of  a  branch  mint  in  New  York. 

The  funds  arising  from  the  fees  for  patents,  hav 
ing  accumulated  to  nearly  $150,000,  Col.  Pratt  in 
troduced  a  resolution  to  provide  for  the  publication 
and  engraving  of  all  the  important  inventions  pa 
tented  at  Washington,  for  the  purpose  of  having 
copies  of  those  works  distributed  to  every  town 
throughout  the  country,  for  the  information  of  the 
people.  Another  resolution  of  great  practical  im 
portance,  introduced  by  Col.  Pratt,  and  adopted  by 
Congress,  was  that  which  requires  an  inventory  of 
the  public  property  in  the  hands  of  the  public 
agents,  to  be  made  out  once  in  two  years,  and  .re 
ported  to  Congress. 


£====== 


32  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

But  the  great  measure  to  which  he  directed  his 
attention,  and  urged  upon  that  of  Congress,  was 
the  establishment  of  a  bureau  of  statistics.  In  Jan 
uary,  1844,  he  moved  the  preparatory  inquiry, 
through  a  select  committee,  and  on  the  8th  of 
March,  he  presented  a  luminous  report  in  favor  of 
the  establishment  of  the  bureau,  with  a  bill  pre 
scribing  its  organization  and  duties.  The  report 
was  accompanied  by  several  elaborate  statistical 
tables,  illustrating  the  plan  of  the  proposed  bureau, 
and  the  mode  of  rendering  efficient  and  serviceable 
its  operations.  The  public  press  throughout  the 
Union  was  unanimous  in  favor  of  the  plan,  but  the 
only  step  which  Col.  Pratt  could  induce  Congress 
to  take,  was  the  transfer  of  three  clerks  for  this  ser 
vice  in  connection  with  one  of  the  bureaux  of  the 
treasury  department.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  however, 
that  his  plan  will  be  filled  up  in  every  particular, 
as  its  adoption  would  be  the  means  of  saving  mil 
lions  to  the  country. 

In  1839,  he  presented  a  report  upon  the  quality 
of  the  different  materials  used  in  the  construction 
of  the  public  buildings  at  Washington — urging  the 
policy  and  eventual  economy  of  substituting  mar 
ble  or  granite  for  the  fragile  and  porous  sandstone 
hitherto  used.  He  demonstrated  the  propriety  of 
the  change  with  such  force  as  to  break  down  the 
opposition  to  the  white  marble,  of  which  he  propos 
ed  that  the  new  General  Post  Office  building 
should  be  constructed.  "It  is  to  the  untiring  per 
severance  of  this  gentleman,"  said  the  Washington 
Globe,  "  that  we  are  mainly  indebted  for  this  beau 
tiful  specimen  of  the  mechanic  arts."  And  it  may 
truly  be  said  that  this  beautiful  edifice,  unsurpassed 
by  any  thing  of  the  kind  in  the  world,  is  his  monu 
ment. 

He  presented  the  memorial  of  Asa  Whitney,  for 
aid  in  the  construction  of  a  national  rail  road,  con 
necting  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific.  Col.  Pratt  be- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  3J 

lieved  the  plan,  though  a  stupendous  one,  was  fea 
sible,  and  that,  once  completed  and  properly  man 
aged,  the  road  would  become  the  great  highway  of 
nations.  (In  a  recent  address  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  on  this  subject,  he  has  presented  an 
array  of  facts  in  favor  of  the  project,  which  cannot 
easily  be  controverted.) 

In  February,  1845,  he  made  a  report  on  the  ex 
tension  of  American  commerce  to  Japan  and  Co- 
rea.  This  interesting  document  was  extensively 
copied  by  the  press.  He  proposed  that  measures 
should  be  taken  to  effect  commercial  arrangements 
similar  to  those  with  China,  with  the  empire  of  Ja 
pan,  containing  a  population  of  50,000,000,  and  the 
kingdom  of  Corea,  having  nearly  20,000,000  of  in 
habitants — believing  that  it  would  result  in  great 
and  permanent  advantages  to  this  country. 

He  introduced  the  bill,  which  has  since  become 
a  law,  providing  for  the  appropriation  of  the  Smith 
sonian  fund  for  improvement  in  agriculture,  me 
chanics  and  literature,  so  as  to  benefit  the  people  of 
all  the  states.  He  was  also  one  of  the  most  effi 
cient  advocates  of  the  bill  providing  for  a  dry  dock 
at  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

Many  other  important  propositions  were  submit 
ted  by  him,  from  time  to  time,  which  we  have  not 
space  to  enumerate.  To  do  so,  and  justice  to  him, 
would  require  a  volume.  Some  idea,  however,  of 
his  indefatigable  industry,  while  in  Congress,  may 
be  formed  from  the  fact,  that  the  reports  he  made 
to  the  28th  Congress,  cover  more  than  a  THOUSAND 
PAGES. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  perseverance  of  Colonel 
Pratt,  when  he  has  any  useful  object  in  view,  it 
may  be  mentioned,  that  when  he  urged  his  propo 
sition  for  building  anew  the  war  and  navy  depart 
ments,  a  southern  member  of  distinguished  ability 
and  influence,  who  was  opposed  to  the  bill,  object 
ed,  because,  he  said,  the  committee  had  not  sub- 
5 


34  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

mined  with  their  report  the  necessary  plans  and 
estimates.  Col.  Pratt  reminded  the  gentleman,  that 
his  objection  must  fall  to  the  ground,  as  the  plan 
and  estimates  were  before  the  House;  and  taking 
them  from  the  clerk's  desk,  he  exhibited  them  to 
the  objecting  member;  and  the  House,  laughing  at 
his  objections,  immediately  passed  the  bill. 

Before  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Polk,  Col.  Pratt 
urged  the  House  for  an  appropriation  to  provide 
new  furniture  for  the  President's  mansion.  The 
old  curtains  and  furniture  were  worn  and  shabby. 
The  House  seemed  reluctant  to  respond,  when  Col. 
Pratt  took  the  responsibility  of  ordering  a  new  suit 
of  curtains  to  be  furnished,  telling  the  upholsterer 
that  if  Congress  did  not  pay  the  bill  he  would.  The 
thing  was  done.  A  few  days  after,  a  southern 
member  complained  of  Col.  Pratt,  that  he  had  acted 
without  authority.  The  Colonel  promptly  replied 
that  he  had  ordered  the  curtains  on  his  own  author 
ity,  and  if  objections  were  made  from  any  quarter, 
he  should  pay  for  them  from  his  own  funds.  And 
he  would  respectfully  ask  the  objecting  member  if 
he  had  ever  done  as  much  for  his  country  as  that? 
The  laugh  was  turned  upon  the  member,  and  the 
appropriation  asked  for  was  passed. 

At  the  close  of  the  twenty-eighth  Congress,  Col. 
Pratt  declined  a  reelection,  in  a  very  able  address 
to  his  constituents,  rendering  a  faithful  account  of 
his  stewardship,  and  he  is  now  engaged  in  the  bu 
siness  of  a  banker,  at  Prattsville.  He  is  still  in  the 
prime  of  life,  enjoying  unbroken  health,  and  full  of 
mental  and  bodily  vigor,  and  has  every  prospect  of 
living  to  achieve  much  good,  as  he  possesses  both 
the  power  and  the  will  so  to  do.  It  maybe  said  of 
him,  that  the  great  object  of  his  life  has  been  prac 
tical  usefulness.  He  desired  to  leave  the  world 
something  better  than  he  found  it.  He  has  been 
eminently  successful  in  all  his  enterprises — has  pre 
served  a  character  spotless  for  integrity  and  honor — 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  35 

and  in  the  relations  of  a  neighbor  and  friend,  has 
no  superior.  As  a  citizen,  he  has  done  much  for 
the  public  good  ;  and,  as  a  sound,  practical,  un 
swerving  advocate  of  the  interests  of  the  working 
classes,  has  never  been  found  wanting. 

Adopting  the  language  of  the  Review,  we  will 
add,  that  in  selecting  the  founder  of  Prattsville  as 
the  subject  of  this  memoir,  we  have  been  actuated 
by  a  desire  to  do  merited  honor  to  that  noble  and 
enterprising  spirit,  which  marks  the  characteristic 
of  the  man,  and  to  spread  before  the  rising  genera 
tion  of  our  great  and  happy  country,  the  benefits  of 
his  example.  He  stands  out  in  bold  relief,  first 
making  his  fortune  inactive  business,  and  then  aid 
ing  in  the  councils  of  hi*  country;  and  of  him  it 
was  said,  none  more  useful.  History  is  said  to  be 
philosophy  teaching  by  example,  and  history,  after 
all,  is  but  the  record  of  the  deeds  of  men.  The 
life  of  the  hero,  who  has  led  conquering  armies, 
may  be  written,  and  while  every  one  may  honor 
his  bravery,  not  one  in  a  million  can  hope  to  bene 
fit  from  his  example.  The  lives  of  statesmen,  of 
poets  and  philosophers,  what  are  they,  unless  they 
show  something  practical  to  the  world,  something 
true  and  tangible,  adapted  to  the  feelings  and  pur 
suits  of  the  masses  ?  The  life  of  one  practical  man 
like  FRANKLIN,  WHITNEY,  SLATER,  or  FULTON,  is 
worth  more  than  all  the  Greek  and  Roman  heroes 
that  ever  existed.  These  men  became  world-re 
nowned,  because  they  possessed,  in  an  eminent  de 
gree,  true  energy,  which,  after  all,  is  one  of  the 
chief  elements  of  greatness.  Their  characters  were 
self- formed — they  rose  from  the  masses,  and  as  you 
follow  them  step  by  step,  you  see  how  they  rose 
gradually  to  distinction;  how  the  benefits  they  at 
last  conferred  on  mankind  grew  up  to  perfection  in 
the  school  of  early  trial,  self-reliance,  and  never- 
failing  energy.  We  have  the  best  of  authority  for 
saying,  that  "  Faith  without  Works  is  dead."  If 


36  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

this  be  true  in  spiritual  things,  it  is  equally  true  in 
temporal.  The  world  is  full  of  visionaries,  and  ac 
counts  of  visionary  men ;  but  how  little  is  written 
of  the  useful,  practical,  energetic,  common-sense 
man. 

We  regard  the  career  of  Zadock  Pratt  as  in  many 
respects  a  remarkable  one,  and  therefore  we  have 
chosen  him  for  the  subject  of  this  memoir.  If  it  be 
asked,  what  has  he  done  ?  we  might  almost  be  dis 
posed  to  answer  by  asking,  what  has  he  not  done 
that  the  young  men  of  the  country  should  emulate  ? 
If  we  look  back  to  his  youth,  we  see  him  toiling  to 
aid  his  parents,  then  the  faithful  apprentice  to  a 
saddler,  always  diligent,  trusty  and  true.  We  see 
him  as  he  approached  manhood,  exhibiting  the  en 
ergy  and  perseverance  which  have  marked  his  cha 
racter  through  life.  As  the  business  man,  we  see 
with  what  sterling  integrity,  admirable  judgment 
and  sagacity,  always  successful,  from  little  to  much, 
his  affairs  were  conducted ;  how  he  breasted  him 
self  to  every  emergency,  relying  upon  his  own  reso*- 
lute  heart  and  never  idle  hand,  and  the  blessing  of 
God,  who  has  promised  to  help  those  who  help 
themselves.  We  have  seen  him  toiling  for  a  com 
petence,  that  he  might  do  good,  aiding  others  as  he 
went  along.  We  have  seen  with  what  courage  he 
could  endure  the  severest  labors  and  exposures, 
even  sleeping  upon  the  snow,  in  pursuit  of  objects 
which  he  deemed  essential  to  his  prosperity  and 
future  usefulness.  Conceiving  the  plan  of  estab 
lishing  a  great  tannery,  we  see  him  plunging  into 
the  deep  forests  on  the  Catskill,  and  choosing  with 
admirable  judgment,  a  location  for  his  works  which 
is  unrivalled,  and  can  never  again  be  equalled. 
This  great  establishment,  under  his  auspices  and 
persevering  energy,  we  have  seen  grow  up  to  be 
the  largest  of  the  kind  in  the  world.  Not  only  so, 
but  we  have  seen  this  humble,  pains-taking,  labor 
ing  mechanic,  almost  with  a  magician's  wand, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  3? 

erect  a  beautiful  and  prosperous  town,  in  every 
public  building  and  religious  institution  of  which 
are  seen  the  marks  of  his  liberality.  We  have  seen 
him  building  his  hundred  houses — the  poor  boy, 
whose  first  money  was  earned  in  picking  huckle 
berries  upon  the  Catskill  mountains.  When  he 
came  to  settle  in  the  little  valley  where  the  village 
now  stands,  he  told  the  few  inhabitants  that  he 
came  to  live  among  them,  not  upon  them.  He  has 
kept  good  his  word.  He  has  accumulated  a  large 
fortune,  never  by  impeding,  but  rather  aiding  the 
course  of  others — never  pulling  down  any  man,  and 
without  ever  making  a  single  enemy  of  any  honor 
able  man. 

It  has  been  said,  that  one  of  the  best  governors 
who  ever  ruled  in  Massachusetts,  was  an  unedu 
cated  man.  He  was  practical  and  sound  in  his 
views ;  knew  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  respected 
them ;  knew  their  wants,  and  as  far  as  possible  pro 
vided  for  them.  To  him  belongs  the  glory  of  first 
introducing  free  schools  into  that  colony. 

Colonel  Pratt,  though  enjoying  no  advantages  of 
early  education,  is  not  insensible  to  its  importance, 
and  has  always  been  the  fast  friend  and  liberal  pa 
tron  of  schools  and  institutions  of  learning,  morality 
and  religion.  As  a  military  man,  we  have  seen 
him  ever  the  friend  of  the  soldier,  and  standing  up 
nobly  for  the  soldier's  rights,  and  always  the  favor 
ite  of  his  company  or  regiment.  We  have  seen 
him  as  the  magistrate  and  supervisor,  respected  and 
honored,  as  the  choice  of  the  people  for  elector  of 
President  and  Vice-President,  and  twice  elected, 
with  uncommon  unanimity,  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  In  that  great  body,  we  have  seen 
him  nobly  sustain  his  character  of  the  WORKING  MAN, 
earning  the  respect  of  all  parties,  and  having  the 
most  entire  confidence  of  his  own.  In  short,  we 
have  seen  him  fill  with  distinguished  ability  the 
three  positions  of  Farmer,  Banker,  and  L  gislator 


38  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

Well,  then,  may  it  be  said  of  him,  that  no  man  did 
more  for  the  good  of  the  people;  and  when  the 
judgment  of  the  country  shall  be  pronounced  on 
his  labors,  it  will  be  shown  that  no  man  originated 
so  many  great  and  important  measures,  whether 
we  regard  them  in  the  light  of  economy,  or  of  their 
ultimate  effect  upon  the  interests  of  legislation  and 
of  the  people.  We  have  seen  that  he  labored  in 
this  great  field,  as  he  has  always  done,  for  the  true 
interests  of  the  farmer  and  mechanic,  and  for  the 
working  classes  generally — proving  himself  equal  to 
his  business,  and  never  above  it,  here  or  elsewhere. 
As  the  light  and  vivifying  rays  of  the  sun  bring 
forth  the  early  blossoms  and  rich  fruits  of  the  earth, 
scattering  plenty  and  blessings  around — so  may  it 
truly  be  said,  that  the  HONEST  MAN,  who  determines 
to  be  useful,  and  perseveres  against  whatever  ob 
stacle,  giving  employment  to,  and  aiding  the  efforts 
of  those  around  him,  is  the  almoner  of  God's  bounty 
to  his  fellow  men.  And  it  is  no  deterioration  of  the 
merits  of  the  hero,  the  statesman,  or  the  politician, 
to  say,  that  the  straight-forward  USEFUL  MAN,  upright, 
energetic,  and  liberal,  is  the  noblest  of  them  all — 
"  an  honest  man's  the  noblest  work  of  God."  Such 
a  man  is  ZADOCK  PRATT;  and  his  examples  of  in 
dustry  and  fidelity,  perseverance  and  public  spirit, 
as  well  as  generosity,  we  would  recommend  to  the 
observation  of  the  youth  of  our  land.  Of  him  it  may 
be  truly  said,  when  we  review  his  plain,  unosten 
tatious  and  honorable  career — marked  by  liberality 
in  thought  and  deed— that  he  is  one  of  "  Nature's 
Noblemen" — an  architect  of  his  own  fortunes — 
and  truly  a  MAN  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 


A  BRIEF  CHRONOLOGY 

OF    THE 

LIFE  OF  HON.  ZADOCK  PRATT,  A.  M. 


1790,  Oct.  30.  Born  at  Stephentown,  Rensselaer  county, 
New  York,  and  in  his  early  days  worked  with  his  father  at  tan 
ning,  at  Middleburgh,  Scoharie  county,  N.  Y. 

1799.     Was  at  the  funeral  of  Gen.  Washington. 

1802.    Removed  to  Windham,  now  Lexington,  Greene  county, 

1810.  Apprenticed  to  Luther  Hays,  a  saddler,  in  Durham. 

1811.  Worked  at  his  trade  a  year  as  a  journeyman  saddler, 
at  $10  a  month. 

1812.  Commenced  business  on  his  own  account  in  Lexing 
ton,  as  a  saddler,  working  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  hours  a  day. 
Here  he  commenced  keeping  an  inventory,  which  he  ever  prac 
ticed  afterwards  during  life,  making  over  $500  the  first  year, 
and  never  less  a  single  year  afterwards. 

1814.  Adds  merchandizing  to  his  saddling,  and,  by  diligence 
and  the  strictest  economy,  is  successful. 

1814.  Went  as  a  soldier  for  the  defence  of  New  York  city, 
then  menaced  by  the  fleets  of  the  enemy  ;  while  there,  he  re 
sists  the  corruption  of  the  commissary,  and  forces  him  to  do 
justice  to  the  soldiers. 

1815.  Sells  out  his  stock  in  trade,  and  is  fortunate  in  escap 
ing   loss   from   the   commercial  revulsion  which  followed   the 
peace  ;  forms  a  partnership  with  his  two  brothers  in  tanning. 

1818,  Oct.  18.  Is  married  to  Miss  Beda  Dickerman,  of 
Hampden,  Conn.,  who  died  19th  April,  1819. 

1818,  Dec.  Makes  a  voyage  by  sea  to  Charleston,  S.  C.  ; 
sea-sick  going,  and  sea-sick  coming ;  learnt  enough  of  sea 
faring  life. 

1821,  April  21.  Unanimously  chosen  captain  in  the  fifth 
regiment  of  New  York  State  Artillery,  and  uniforms  the  com 
pany  at  his  own  expense. 


10*  A    BRIEF    CHRONOLOGY    OF    THE 

1821.  In  the  winter   of  this  year  makes  an  excursion  to 
Canada,  with  leather,  for  the  purchase  of  furs,  during  which  he 
encamps  in  the  woods  upon  the  snow.     Returning,  is  taken  by 
a  landlord  at  Albany  to  be  a  wanderer,  not  entitled  to  hospital 
ity,  on  account  of  his  worn  and  soiled  garments,  but  who,  on 
finding  him  possessed  of  a  heavy  bag  of  dollars,  suddenly  be 
comes  the  pink  of  politeness  to  our  traveller. 

1822.  July  12.     Is  unanimously  elected  Colonel  of  the  116th 
regiment  of  infantry  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

1823.  Is  married  to  his  second  wife,  Miss  Esther  Dicker- 
man,  sister  to  his  first  wife  ;  she  died  22d  April,  1826. 

1824.  Is  appointed  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  the  county  of 
Greene. 

1824,  Oct.  6.     Received  a  vote  of  thanks  from  the  Presby 
tery  at  Lexington,  for  a  donation  of  $100  in  aid  of  the  mission 
ary  cause. 

1825.  Built  his  great  tannery  in  the  woods  of  Windham, 
where  has  since  grown  up  under  his  auspices  the  flourishing 
village  of  Prattsville,  now  numbering  2000  inhabitants,  as  in 
dustrious,  prosperous  and  happy  as  any  in  the  State — having 
now  three  churches,  to  the  expense  of  each  he  contributed  one- 
third,  and  one-half  to  the  Academy. 

1825,  Escorts  Gen.  Lafayette  into  Catskill. 

1826,  Sept.  4.     Resigns  his  commission  as  Colonel  of  Militia 
to  the  Governor  of  the  State. 

1827,  Oct.  12.     Is  married  to  his  third  wife,  Miss  Abigail 
P.  Watson,  daughter  of  Wheeler  Watson,  Esq.,  of  Rensselaer. 
She  died  Feb.  5,  1834. 

1827.     Is  elected  Supervisor  of  the  town  of  Windham. 

1825—1835.  This  was  the  busy  scene  of  life— from  35  to 
45  years  of  age — during  which  he  accumulated  a  large  portion 
of  his  wealth. 

1832.  The  town  of  Windham  divided,  and  the  westerly 
portion  called  Prattsville,  after  the  name  of  the  founder. 

1835,  March  16.  Married  his  fourth  wife,  Miss  Mary  E. 
Watson,  sister  of  his  third  consort. 

1835.  Receives  the  thanks  of  the  Delaware  Circuit  for  the 
donation  of  a  lot  of  ground  for  the  use  of  the  Elder  of  that 
Circuit. 

1836,  March.     Builds  a  bridge  over  Scoharie  kill,  130  feet 
long,  the  snow  three  feet  deep  in  the  woods,  in  eleven  days, 
without  the  use  of  ardent  spirits. 

1836,  Nov.     Is  elected  a  Representative  in  Congress  from 


LIFE    OF    HON.    ZADOCK   PRATT.  *H 

the  Eighth  Congressional  District  of  New  York.  At  the  same 
election  was  chosen  one  of  the  Electors  of  President  and  Vice 
President  from  New  York,  and  gave  his  vote  for  Van  Buren 
and  Johnson. 

1837,  Sept.  4.  Takes  his  seat  in  Congress  at  the  extra 
session,  called  by  Mr.  Van  Buren. 

1837,  Sept.  4.  Is  appointed  one  of  the  standing  committee 
on  the  militia. 

1837,  Oct.  Receives  the  silver  medal  of  the  New  York  In 
stitute,  being  the  first  ever  granted  to  a  tanner,  for  the  best 
specimen  of  hemlock-tanned  sole  leather. 

1837,  Dec.  11.     Is  appointed  one  of  the  standing  committee 
on  public  buildings  and  grounds. 

1838,  March  11.     Moved  a  resolution  in  favor  of  the  reduc 
tion  of  postage,  thus  originating  a  great  and  favorite  measure, 
which  he  rejoiced  to  see  accomplished,  and  which  has  proved 
of  such  vast  benefit  to  the  whole  United  States. 

1838,  March  12.  Presented  the  resolution  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  submitted  a  resolution  providing  for  procuring 
foreign  seeds  and  plants,  to  be  distributed  gratuitously  to  the 
farmers  of  the  United  States,  through  the  medium  of  the  Patent 
Office,  to  benefit  the  farming  interests. 

1838,  July  4th.     Publishes  an  address  to  his  constituents, 
partially  reviewing  the  proceedings  in  Congress,  and  declining 
a  re-election. 

1839,  Jan.  28.     Moved  a  resolution  of  inquiry  respecting 
the  material  of  which  the  public  buildings  at  Washington  are 
constructed. 

1839,  Feb.  25.  Presented  a  report  on  the  quality  of  the' 
materials  used  in  constructing  the  public  buildings  at  Wash 
ington,  concluding  with  a  resolution  that  the  material  hereafter 
used  for  that  purpose,  shall  be  of  the  hardest  and  most  durable 
kind,  either  marble  or  granite.  At  the  same  time  he  submitted 
a  plan  and  estimates  for  the  new  General  Post-Office,  and  that 
building,  the  finest  in  Washington,  has  since  been  erected  of 
marble,  according  to  his  plan,  and  is  said  to  be  the  finest  build 
ing  in  the  world. 

1839,  March  1.  Delivers  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  on  the  subject  of  constructing  a  Dry  Dock  at  Brook 
lyn,  full  of  valuable  statistics,  on  commerce,  navigation,  imports, 
exports  and  bullion,  for  ten  years. 

1839.  Moved  the  bill  for  establishing  a  Branch  Mint  in  the 
city  of  New  York. 


12*  A    BRIEF    CHRONOLOGY    OF   THE 

1839,  July  4.     Delivers  an  oration  at  Prattsville. 
1839,  Sept.     Was  elected  a  member  of  the  American  Insti 
tute. 

1839,  Oct.  25.  Offers  five  thousand  dollars  to  endow  an 
Academy  in  Prattsville,  on  condition  that  the  like  sum  be  raised 
by  any  Christian  denomination. 

1842,  Nov.  Is  chosen  a  Representative  in  Congress  from 
the  Eleventh  Congressional  District  of  New  York. 

1842,  Dec.  29.     Delivers  an  address  before  the  Mechanics' 
Society  at  Catskill,  of  which  he  was  a  member. 

1843,  Establishes   a  Bank  at  Prattsville,  with  $100,000 
capital,  wholly  secured  by  6  and  7  per  cent,  stocks  of  the 
United  States  and  State  of  New  York — its  bills  kept  at  par  in 
the  city  of  New  York. 

1844,  Jan.  3.     Offers  resolution  providing  for  uniform  annual 
returns  of  banks,  suitable  forms  to  be  furnished  by  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury,  in  order  that  a  more  perfect  system 
might  be  adopted  for  the  benefit  of  the  community.     He  offered 
a  similar  resolution  llth  Jan.,  1839. 

1844,  Jan.  8.  Moved  an  amendment  to  the  resolution  in 
favor  of  the  remission  of  the  fine  upon  Gen.  Jackson,  to  place 
on  record  the  fact,  that  fifteen  out  of  seventeen  millions  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  United  States  had  so  instructed  their  delega 
tions  in  Congress. 

1844,  Jan.  12.  Gives  notice  of  offering  a  bill  for  establish 
ing  a  Branch  Mint  at  New  York  ;  same  day,  gave  notice  for  bill 
amending  naturalization  laws,  which  were  afterwards  presented. 

1844,  Jan.  17.  Presented  the  resolutions  of  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  New  York  to  remit  the  fine  of  Gen.  Jackson. 

1844,  Jan.  29.  Moved  the  appointment  of  a  select  com 
mittee  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  Bureau 
of  Statistics  and  Commerce,  in  connection  with  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.  Is  appointed  chairman  of  said  committee. 

1844,  Jan.  Elected  President  of  the  Greene  County  Agri 
cultural  Society. 

1844,  Feb.  Was  on  board  the  Princeton  at  the  time  of  the 
explosion  of  its  great  gun,  when  Messrs.  Upshur,  Gilmer,  and 
others  were  killed — and  was  the  first  man  who  had  nerve,  and 
was  collected  enough  to  attend  at  once  to  the  care  of  the  unfor 
tunate  killed  and  wounded. 

1844,  March  7.  Makes  a  report  on  the  application  of  the 
citizens  of  Washington  to  have  a  clock  furnished  at  the  public 
expense. 


LIFE    OF    HON.    ZADOCK    PRATT.  *13 

1844,  March  7.  Makes  a  report  on  the  situation,  cost,  &c., 
of  the  public  buildings  and  grounds,  and  expenditures  of  the 
Presidential  Mansion. 

1844,  March  8.  Submits  a  report  as  chairman  of  the  select 
committee  on  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  and  Commerce,  with 
valuable  tables,  showing  the  loans  and  discounts  of  the  banks, 
imports  and  exports,  and  balance  of  trade,  for  a  series  of  years, 
of  our  government  with  other  nations,  illustrating  the  import 
ance  of  the  proposed  measure,  and  concluding  with  a  bill  to 
provide  for  the  collection  of  national  statistics. 

1844,  March  18.  Moved  resolution  respecting  care  and 
management  of  the  furnaces  used  to  heat  the  halls  and  rooms 
of  the  Capitol. 

1844,  April  12.  Offers  a  joint  resolution  for  the  appropria 
tion  of  the  public  ground  for  a  National  Monument. 

1844,  April  12.  Reported  bill  for  an  addition  of  a  wing  to 
the  Patent  Office. 

1844,  April  12.  Makes  additional  report  on  the  plan  sub 
mitted  by  him  for  fire-proof  buildings  for  the  War  and  Navy 
Departments. 

1844,  May  15.  Moved  joint  resolution  authorizing  the 
transfer  of  certain  clerks  in  the  treasury  department  to  perform 
the  duties  of  the  bureau  of  statistics,  agreeably  to  the  report  of 
the  select  committee  on  that  subject,  which  resolution  was 
adopted. 

1844,  May  24.  Makes  report,  with  plan  and  estimates,  on 
the  proposed  change  of  the  Hall  and  Library  of  the  House  of 
Representatives. 

1844,  May  25.  Makes  report  on  the  expenditures  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  from  the  foundation  of  the  government, 
showing  an  expenditure  exceeding  ten  millions  of  dollars. 

1844,  May  25.  Makes  report  on  the  Monument  Square, 
submitting  a  plan,  diagram,  and  drawing  for  a  National  Monu 
ment  to  Washington. 

1844,  May  25.  Moved  joint  resolution  requiring  an  inven 
tory  once  in  two  years,  of  all  public  property  to  be  returned 
from  all  persons  having  any  in  charge,  in  order  that  public 
officers  and  legislators  might  have  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of 
the  property  in  charge  of  the  government. 

1844,  May  25.  Made  report,  accompanied  with  a  joint  re 
solution  providing  for  the  laying  out  and  fencing  the  Monument 
Square. 

1844,  June  5.     Offers  joint  resolution  providing  for  the  mode 


14= 


A    BRIEF    CHRONOLOGY    OF    THE 


of  making  returns  of  public  property  in  possession  of  officers  of 
the  government. 

1844,  June  7.  Moved  a  joint  resolution  for  the  preparing 
and  distribution  of  the  national  medals  to  the  state  libraries, 
colleges  and  academies. 

1844,  June  7.  Moved  resolution  providing  that  monuments 
hereafter  erected  to  deceased  members  of  Congress,  should  be 
constructed  of  marble  instead  of  sandstone,  heretofore  used. 

1844,  June  7.  Moved  a  resolution  directing  topographical 
bureau  to  cause  a  plan  of  the  city  of  Washington,  and  views 
of  the  capitol  and  public  buildings  to  be  engraved,  and  copies 
to  be  sent  as  presents  by  ministers  and  consuls,  to  foreign 
courts,  translated  into  their  languages. 

1844,  June  15.  Resolution  adopted  on  his  motion,  provid 
ing  for  the  collection  of  statistics,  on  the  plan  of  the  bureau 
submitted  in  his  report  of  the  8th  of  March. 

1844,  June  17.  Makes  report  on  the  errors  in  the  sixth 
census. 

1844,  August  29.  The  democratic  convention  in  Greene 
county  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Col.  Pratt  for  his  eminent 
public  services,  and  untiring  devotion  to  the  business  of  the 
present  session  of  Congress,  and  especially  in  placing  on  record 
the  fact  that  more  than  14,000,000  of  American  freemen  had 
instructed  their  representatives  to  vote  for  refunding  to  Gen. 
Jackson  the  fine  imposed  upon  him  while  fighting  for  his  coun 
try  at  ^New  Orleans.  In  establishing  a  Bureau  of  Statistics, 
which  is  of  incalculable  benefit  to  Legislation — to  government 
in  all  its  departments,  and  to  the  business  men  of  the  country. 
In  causing  a  resolution  to  be  passed,  by  which  the  inventions 
of  our  mechanics  which  are  patented  are  to  be  lithographed 
and  furnished  to  each  town  free  of  expense.  For  his  admir 
able  taste  in  the  construction  of  public  buildings,  in  the  laying 
out  and  disposition  of  the  public  grounds,  and  in  the  surpass 
ingly  beautiful  monument  to  the  memory  of  Washington.  In 
the  various  and  able  reports  from  time  to  time  submitted  by 
him  to  that  body,  and  finally  in  causing  government  like  indi 
viduals  to  take  and  keep  an  inventory  of  the  property  of  the 
nation. 

1844,  December  4.     Moved  a  resolution  authorizing  the  sec 
retary  of  war  to  loan  marquees  and  tents  to  state  agricultural 
societies  for  their  fairs. 

1844,  December  26.  Introduced  joint  resolution  providing 
for  periodical  renewals  and  greater  security  of  bonds  of  public 
officers. 


LIFE    OF    HON.     ZADOCK    PRATT.  *15 

1844,  December  31.  Moved  joint  resolution  providing  for 
the  selection  of  a  site  for  the  National  Washington  Monument. 

1844,  Dec.  31.     Makes  report  on  the  necessity  of  providing 
additional   buildings   for  the  accommodation  of  the  War  and 
Navy  Departments. 

1845,  January  10.     Reports  bill  providing  for  the  painting, 
repairing,  &c.,  of  the  Presidential  Mansion,  and  other  public 
buildings. 

1845,  Jan.  11.  Received  vote  of  thanks  from  the  Washing 
ton  Monument  Society,  for  his  untiring  exertions  in  their  be 
half,  and  for  the  plan  and  map  by  him  submitted. 

1845,  January  28.  Offers  joint  resolution  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  flags,  and  other  trophies  taken  in  battle. 

1845,  January  28.  Makes  report  on  national  trophies,  ac 
companied  with  the  above  resolution. 

1845,  January  28.  Makes  report  with  plans  and  drawings, 
and  estimates  for  the  War  and  Navy  Department,  accompanied 
with  bill. 

1845,  January  28.  With  introductory  remarks,  presents 
the  memorial  of  Asa  Whitney,  on  the  importance  of  a  National 
Railroad  to  the  Pacific. 

1845,  January  28.  Submits  reports  on  the  ventilation  of  the 
Representatives'  Hall,  and  to  prevent  the  echo  so  much  com 
plained  of  by  speakers. 

1845,  February  7.  Submits  additional  report  on  the  im 
portance  of  a  statistical  bureau,  accompanied  with  a  joint  reso 
lution  for  the  establishment  of  the  same. 

1845,  February  15.  Submits  proposition  for  the  extension 
of  American  commerce,  and  proposing  a  mission  to  Corea  and 
Japan,  a  people  of  over  seventy  millions,  with  whom  we  have 
no  communication,  and  whose  ports  our  ships  are  not  allowed  to 
enter. 

1845,  February  19.  Presents  a  memorial  from  forty-seven 
editors  and  authors  in  favor  of  placing  magazines  and  periodi 
cals  on  the  same  footing  with  newspapers  as  respects  mail 
privileges,  in  furtherance  of  his  plan  of  providing  for  a  cheap 
and  uniform  postage. 

1845,  February  21.  Moved  resolution  for  the  appointment 
of  three  commissioners  to  investigate  the  public  departments 
and  bureaux  at  Washington,  with  a  view  to  a  better  organiza 
tion,  and  an  equalization  of  duties  and  salaries  of  public  officers. 

1845.  Moved  estimates  and  plan  for  erecting  dwellings  for 
the  five  heads  of  departments,  opposite  the  Presidential  Mansion. 


16*  A    BRIEF    CHRONOLOGY    OF    THE 

1845,  February  25.  Makes  report  on  the  statistics  of  the 
United  States,  the  population,  revenue,  production,  and  show 
ing  the  relative  condition  of  the  northern  and  southern  states. 

1845,  February  25.  Makes  a  report  on  the  national  edifices 
at  Washington. 

1845,  February.  That  three  Commissioners  be  appointed 
whose  duty  it  shall  be,  during  the  recess  of  Congress,  to  ex 
amine  into  all  the  departments  in  the  various  offices  of  govern 
ment,  with  the  view  of  remodelling  said  departments,  for  the 
purpose  of  equalizing  salaries  and  duties. 

1845,  February  26.  Reports  a  bill  for  amendment  of  the 
naturalization  laws. 

1845,  February  27.  Moved  an  amendment  to  the  general 
appropriation  bill,  providing  for  the  survey,  under  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  War,  of  a  rail  road  route  from  Lake  Michigan 
to  the  South  Pass  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  Oregon. 

1845,  February  28.  Moved  a  bill  respecting  the  Smithson 
ian  Institute,  the  substance  of  which  has  since  become  a  law, 
providing  that  a  portion  of  the  income  of  the  Smithsonian  fund 
should  be  appropriated  for  the  improvement  of  agriculture  and 
the  mechanic  arts. 

1845,  March  3.  Makes  report  on  the  salaries  of  all  the 
officers  employed  at  Washington,  showing  the  amount  received 
by  each,  and  the  states  from  which  they  were  appointed. 

1845,  March  3.  Makes  report  on  the  duties  upon  imports 
and  tonnage  and  revenue,  by  states,  showing  the  amount  col 
lected  each  year,  from  the  foundation  of  the  government. 

1845,  March  3.  Makes  report  on  a  proposed  new  mode  of 
taking  the  yeas  and  nays  in  the  House,  by  machinery  connected 
with  the  Speaker's  table. 

1845,  March  5.  In  an  address  to  his  constituents,  review 
ing  his  acts  while  in  Congress,  and  giving  an  account  of  his 
stewardship,  he  declines  a  re-election  to  Congress. 

1845,  June.  Receives  thanks  of  the  Greene  County  Agri 
cultural  Society  for  a  donation  of  $250,  for  the  promotion  of 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts. 

1845,  July  1.  Is  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Frank 
lin  Institute  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  (in  the  city  of  Phila 
delphia,)  for  the  promotion  of  the  mechanic  arts. 

1845,  September  25.  Delivers  an  address  before  the  Greene 
County  Agricultural  Society,  of  which  he  was  President. 

1845.     Offers   resolution   providing   for   the   engraving   of 


LIFE    OF    HON.    ZADOCK    PRATT.  *17 

patents,  and  their  distribution  to  every  town  and  county 
and  public  library  in  the  United  States,  for  the  benefit  of 
mechanics,  to  whom  those  inestimable  plans  are  now  like  a 
sealed  book. 

1845.  Offers  a  resolution  providing  for  the  execution  of 
busts,  by  native  artists,  of  all  the  Presidents,  to  be  placed  in 
the  Capitol. 

1845.  Moves  a  bill  providing  for  the  establishment  of  the 
free  banking  system  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  similar  to  the 
free  banking  law  of  New  York. 

1845.  Offers  a  resolution  calling  on  the  secretary  of  state 
to  furnish  the  statistics  of  Texas,  pending  her  admission  into 
the  Union. 

1845.  Is  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Peithessophian 
Society  of  Rutgers  College,  New  Jersey. 

1846.  Received  a  similar  honor  from  Middletown  College, 
Connecticut. 

1846.  Closed  the  concerns  of  his  tannery  at  Prattsville, 
after  tanning  over  a  million  sides  of  sole  leather,  using  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  cords  of  bark,  from  ten  square 
miles  of  bark  land,  and  clearing  over  five  thousand  acres, 
one  thousand  years  of  labor,  and  some  $6,000,000  of  money, 
without  a  litigated  law-suit,  or  having  a  single  side  stolen. 

1846.  Elected  honorary  member  of  the  Louisiana  State 
Agricultural  and  Mechanics'  Association. 

1846.  Is  elected  a  corresponding  member  of  the  American 
Agricultural  Association. 

1847,  March.   ^  With  a  view  of  acquiring,  from  personal  ob 
servation,  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  peculiar  institutions  of 
the  south,  as  compared  with  those  of  the  north,  makes  a  tour 
with  his  son,  then  a  lad  of  eighteen,  through  the  whole  of  the 
southern  and  south-western,  states. 

1847,  August  28.  Addresses  a  letter  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  on  the  importance  of  a  railroad  across  the  con 
tinent  to  the  Pacific  ocean. 

1847,  September  23.  Delivers  an  address  at  the  dedication 
of  the  Spencertown  Academy. 

1847,  November  22.  Receives  thanks  from  Spencertown 
Academy,  for  a  liberal  donation. 

1847,  November  27.  Communication  in  answer  to  an  inquiry 
of  the  American  Institute,  explaining  the  system  of  the  Pratts- 


18*  CHRONOLOGY    OF    THE    LIFE    OF    ZADOCK    PRATT. 

ville  tannery,  of  its  management,  and  the  extent  of  its  opera- 
tions. 

1848,  January  4.  Delivers  a  lecture  before  the  Mercantile 
Library  Association  of  the  city  of  Hudson.  Subject  .*  Mind 
your  business. 

1848,  January  4.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Greene 
County  Agricultural  Society,  held  at  Cairo,  it  was — Resolved, 
That  the  thanks  of  the  Greene  Co.  Agricultural  Society  be 
tendered  to  the  Hon.  Zadock  Pratt,  late  President,  for  his 
valuable  services  and  able  superintendence  of  the  affairs  of  the 
said  society  ;  and  also — Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  said 
society  be  presented  to  Hon.  Zadock  Pratt  for  his  liberal  dona 
tions  in  sustaining  and  carrying  out  the  measures  and  objects 
of  said  society. 

1848,  January  14.  Received  the  thanks  of  the  Greene  Co. 
Baptist  Missionary  Society,  for  donation. 

1848.  The  American  Biographical  Sketch  Book,  containing 
the  lives  of  130  eminent  citizens,  with  portraits,  was  dedicated 
by  the  Editor,  Wm.  Hunt,  Esq.,  "  To  Zadock  Pratt,  the 
Friend  of  the  Mechanic,  and  the  Patron  of  all  that  is  useful." 
This  same  year,  "  Scientific  Agriculture,  or  the  Elements  of 
Chemistry,  Botany,  and  Meteorology,  applied  to  Practical 
Agriculture,  by  M.  M.  RodgSrs,  M.  D.,"  was  dedicated  to 
Hon.  Zadock  Pratt. 

1848.  Makes  the  third  annual  report  to  the  N.  Y.  State 
Agricultural  society,  as  president  of  the  Greene  County  Agri 
cultural  Society,  giving  the  geological,  agricultural  and  com 
mercial  statistics  of  the  county  of  Greene. 

1848,  March  7.  Is  elected  a  corresponding  member  of  the 
New  York  Historical  Society. 

1848,  July  23.     Received  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts  from  Union  College  ;  the  first  instance  in  this  state  of  a 
similar  honor  conferred  upon  a  self-taught  mechanic. 

1849,  January  2.     Elected  President  of  the  Mechanics  In 
stitute  of  the  city  of  New  York. 

1849,  January  16.  Delivers  an  address  on  his  inauguration 
as  President  of  the  Mechanics  Institute,  City  Hall,  N.  York. 


ELIHU    BURR  I  TT. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  39 


ELTHU  BURRITT. 

Among  the  many  remarkable  men  of  this  remark 
able  age,  no  one  seems  to  us  more  worthy  of  notice 
than  the  "  Learned  Blacksmith." 

Elihu  Burritt,  says  Mary  Howitt,  is  not  merely 
remarkable  for  his  knowledge  of  languages  —  a 
knowledge  which  is  perfectly  stupendous,  and 
which  having  been  acquired  under  circumstances 
which,  at  first  sight,  would  seem  to  present  insu 
perable  barriers  to  anything  beyond  the  most  ordi 
nary  acquirements,  may  naturally  excite  our  sur 
prise  and  admiration — but  he  is  remarkable  in  a 
high  moral  degree ;  and  this  it  is,  combined  with 
his  great  learning,  which  entitles  him  to  our  love 
and  reverence.  His  many-languaged  head  is  wed 
ded  to  a  large  and  benevolent  heart,  every  throb 
of  which  is  a  sentiment  of  brotherhood  to  all  man 
kind.  Like  an  apostle  of  peace  and  good-will,  he 
has  come  among  us,  with  the  clasped  hands  as  his 
cognizance,  as  a  teacher  and  promulgator  of  Christ's 
own  doctrine  of  love.  He  has  not  read  Homer  and 
Virgil,  and  the  Sagas  of  the  North,  and  the  Vedas 
of  the  East,  to  admire  only,  and  to  teach  others  to 
admire  the  strong-handed  warrior,  cutting  his  way 
to  glory  through  prostrate  and  bleeding  thousands: 
he  has  read  only  to  learn  more  emphatically,  that 
God  made  all  men  to  be  brethren,;  and  that  Christ 
gave,  as  the  sum  total  of  his  doctrines,  that  they 
should  love  one  another.  This  is  the  end  of  all  his 
reading  and  learning;  and  better,  by  far,  to  have 
learned  thus,  with  hard  hands  and  a  swarthy  brow, 
over  the  labors  of  his  forge  and  hammer,  thari  to 
have  studied  in  easy  universities,  to  have  worn 
lawn  and  ermine,  yet  have  garnered  no  expansive 
benevolence  while  he  became  a  prodigy  of  learning. 


40  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

His  family  are  described  as  possessing  his  virtues. 
If  any  one  in  the  town  met  with  a  misfortune,  lost 
a  limb,  or  became  halt,  or  blind,  or  dumb,  he  be 
came  to  this  good  family  an  uncle  or  an  aunt. 
What  a  sermon  might  be  preached  from  this  text. 

Being  the  youngest  of  the  five  sons,  it  was  the 
privilege  of  Elihu  to  remain  at  home  with  Jiis  pa 
rents,  and  contribute  to  the  support  and  comfort  of 
their  old  age.  Among  the  pleasantest  reminiscen 
ces  of  his  earlier  life  are  the  exertions  he  made  for 
this  purpose.  At  sixteen  he  had  arrived  at  the  full 
stature  and  strength  of  man.  He  now  united  him 
self  with  the  congregational  church  in  New  Britain, 
under  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Jones; 
and  is  at  the  present  time  a  member,  in  regular 
standing,  of  the  same  church,  whose  articles  of 
faith  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  Independents  in 
England.  At  this  time  his  father's  first  and  last 
illness  commenced,  which  lasted  for  almost  a  year. 
During  the  whole  of  this  time,  this  excellent  son 
labored  through  the  day  in  the  field  or  forest,  and 
then  watched  through  half  the  night  at  the  bedside 
of  his  father,  that  his  mother  might  be  enabled  to 
take  necessary  rest. 

After  his  father's  death  he  apprenticed  himself  to 
a  blacksmith  of  the  town;  the  only  school  educa 
tion  he  had  as  yet  received,  being  three  months  at 
a  district  school  during  the  winter,  before  he  was 
fifteen.  Of  far  greater  importance,  however,  than 
this  scanty  tuition,  was  the  keen  appetite  for  read 
ing  which  kept  Ijis  mind  awake ;  and  which  was 
doubtless  stimulated  by  the  difficulty  he  had  in 
procuring  books. 

Soon  after  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  while  working 
at  his  trade,  he  took  up  his  residence  with  his 
brother  Elijah,  who  had  opened  a  school.  By  Eli 
jah's  advice,  however,  when  his  term  of  apprentice 
ship  had  expired,  and  he  was  one  and  twenty,  he 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  41 

laid  aside  his  hammer,  and  became  a  student  with 
his  brother  for  one  half-year. 

After  this  half  year  of  study,  in  the  spring,  he 
found  himself  well  versed  in  mathematics;  he  had 
gone  through  Virgil  in  Latin,  and  had  read  several 
French  works;  he  was,  therefore,  well  satisfied  with 
himself,  and  returned  again  to  the  forge,  determined 
to  make  up  for  lost  time.  To  accomplish  this  tho 
roughly,  he  engaged  himself  to  do  the  work  of  two 
men,  and  thus  received  double  wages.  Severe  as 
this  labor  was,  and  requiring  fourteen  hours  of  each 
day,  he  still  found  time  to  read  a  little  of  Virgil, 
and  a  few  pages  of  French  morning  or  evening. 
He  at  this  time  also  first  began  to  look  into  the 
Spanish,  which,  to  his  delight,  he  found  he  could 
read  without  much  difficulty.  During  this  summer 
he  conceived  the  idea  of  making  himself  acquainted 
with  Greek. 

With  autumn  came  self-dissatisfaction.  He  saw 
again  the  intellectual  world  lying  before  him,  like 
an  undiscovered  land;  and  again  he  resolved  to 
sacrifice  a  whole  winter  to  extend  that  knowledge 
which  was  so  necessary  to  him.  He  left  his  fur 
naces,  therefore,  and  went  to  New  Haven, ;  not,  as 
our  readers  may  imagine,  with  the  intention  of  en 
tering  Yale  College,  but  with  a  vague  sort  of  notion 
that  the  very  atmosphere  of  that  seat  of  learning 
would  facilitate  his  progress.  If,  however,  this  did 
not  much  assist,  it  certainly  did  not  retard  him,  foi 
the  intellectual  labor  of  this  winter  seems  perfectly 
miraculous.  On  arriving  in  the  town  he  took  lodg 
ings  at  an  inn,  and  commenced  a  course  of  study 
on  the  following  plan,  which  we  will  give  in  his 
own  words. 

"  As  soon  as  the  man  who  attended  to  the  fires 
had  made  one  in  the  common  sitting-room,  which 
was  at  about  half-past  four  in  the  morning,  I  arose, 
and  studied  German  vtill  breakfast,  which  was 
served  at  half-past  seven.  When  the  boarders 
6 


42  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

were  gone  to  their  places  of  business  I  sat  down  to 
Homer's  Illiad,  without  a  note  or  comment  to  as 
sist  me,  and  with  a  Greek  and  Latin  lexicon.  A 
few  minutes  before  the  people  came  in  to  their 
dinners,  I  put  away  all  my  Greek  and  Latin,  and 
began  reading  Italian,  which  was  less  calculated  to 
attract  the  notice  of  the  noisy  men  who  at  that 
hour  thronged  the  room.  After  dinner  I  took  a 
short  walk,  and  then  again  sat  down  to  Homer's 
Illiad,  with  a  determination  to  master  it  without  a 
master.  The  proudest  moment  of  my  life  was 
when  I  had  first  possessed  myself  of  the  full  mean 
ing  of  the  first  fifteen  lines  of  that  noble  work.  I 
took  a  triumphal  walk  in  celebration  of  that  exploit. 
In  the  evening  I  read  in  the  Spanish  language  until 
bed-time.  I  followed  this  course  for  two  or  three 
months,  at  the  end  of  which  time  I  had  read  about 
the  whole  of  the  Illiad  in  Greek,  and  made  consi 
derable  progress  in  French,  Italian,  German  and 
Spanish." 

When  winter  was  over  he  returned  to  New  Britain 
to  his  trade.  The  fame  of  his  learning  had  preced 
ed  him,  and  he  was  induced  to  undertake  the  ma 
nagement  of  a  grammar  school  in  a  neighboring 
town.  After  a  year  his  health  suffered  from  con 
finement,  and  he  was  induced  to  give  up  his  school. 

He  then  engaged  himself  as  travelling  agent  to  a 
manufacturing  company  in  New  Britain.  This 
mode  of  life  continued  for  twelve  months,  during 
which  he  made  his  first  essay  in  original  author 
ship,  in  a  story  called  "My  Brother's  Grave."  Thus 
a  new  faculty  was  discovered,  and  ever  after,  the 
pen  became  a  medium  of  communication  between 
him  and  the  public. 

His  next  change  was  to  commence  business  on 
his  own  account  in  New  Britain ;  but  unfortunately, 
this  was  just  before  the  great  commercial  revulsion, 
which  was  felt  not  only  in  America,  but  also  in 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  43 

England;  and  Burritt,  like  many  another  trader,  was 
an  unsuccessful  man. 

His  mind  was  now  turned  to  the  study  of  the 
oriental  languages,  but  a  difficulty  soon  arose  from 
the  want  of  books.  To  overcome  this  difficulty,  he 
resolved  to  make  a  voyage  to  Europe,  working  his 
way  across  the  Atlantic  as  a  common  sailor,  or  in 
any  other  capacity  in  which  he  could  receive  wages 
for  the  work  of  his  hands.  Boston  was  the  nearest 
port,  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles, 
and  to  Boston  he  set  out  on  foot.  All  his  worldly 
wealth  went  with  him  ;  his  change  of  linen  tied  in 
a  handkerchief,  three  dollars  and  an  old  silver 
watch  in  his  pocket,  which  watch  was  of  no  use  to 
him,  as  it  did  not  go,  and  he  could  not  afford  to 
have  it  mended.  His  mother  furnished  him  with 
gingerbread,  and  other  light  provision  for  the  jour 
ney. 

Footsore  and  weary,  after  a  travel  of  a  hundred 
and  twenty  miles,  he  arrived  at  Boston  to  find  that 
no  vessel  was  sailing  from  that  port.  He  learned, 
however,  to  his  comfort,  that  an  antiquarian  library 
existed  in  the  town  of  Worcester,  which  was  forty 
miles  distance ;  and  to  that  place  he  now  resolved 
on  going,  determined  to  take  work  as  a  journey 
man,  and  to  gain  access  to  the  library.  A  feeling, 
however,  of  unwonted  depression  lay  heavily  on  his 
mind ;  he  was  exhausted  by  bodily  fatigue,  lame, 
and  reduced  in  finance  to  one  dollar  and  the  old 
watch.  He  limped  along  the  streets  of  this  city  as 
he  was  about  to  leave  it,  feeling  himself  poor  and 
weak,  and  mean,  in  comparison  with  the  very  walls 
of  the  houses,  which,  as  he  glanced  up  to  them, 
looked  to  him,  as  he  himself  has  been  heard  to  say, 
like  the  walls  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  When  he 
reached  Boston  bridge  on  his  way  to  Worcester,  he 
was  overtaken  by  a  wagon  which  a  boy  was  driving. 
On  inquiry,  he  found  that  the  boy  was  going  to 
Worcester,  and  was  willing  to  take  him  there  as  he 


44  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

requested.     This  was  a  great  god-send  to  his  weary 
frame,  for  it  was  forty  miles  to  that  town. 

Burritt  very  soon  engaged  himself  as  a  journey 
man  blacksmith,  at  the  low  rate  of  twelve  dollars  a 
month,  with  board.  A  very  short  time  sufficed  to 
show  him,  that  the  antiquarian  library  of  Worcester 
could  be  of  little  or  no  use  to  him;  and  this  disco 
very  filled  him  with  deep  sorrow.  The  library  was 
open  to  the  public  but  a  certain  number  of  hours  in 
the  day,  and  these  were  the  very  hours  when  his 
duty  as  a  journeyman  smith  confined  him  to  the 
anvil.  He  continued,  therefore,  his  Hebrew  studies 
unassisted,  as  he  best  was  able.  Every  moment 
which  he  could  steal  out  of  the  twenty-four  hours, 
was  devoted  to  study.  This  severe  labor  of  mind, 
as  might  be  expected,  produced  serious  effects  on 
his  health ;  he  suffered  much  from  head  aches,  the 
characteristic  remedy  for  which  were  two  or  three 
additional  hours  of  hard  forging,  and  a  little  less 
study.  We  will  copy  from  his  diary  of  this  date, 
one  week's  work,  as  a  specimen  of  the  whole,  and 
our  readers  may  then  judge  of  the  gigantic  labors 
of  this  Titan  of  learning. 

"Monday,  June  13. — Headache ;  40  pages  Cuvier's 
Theory  of  the  Earth;  64  pages  of  French;  11  hours 
forging. 

"  Tuesday. — 65  lines  Hebrew;  30  pages  French; 
10  pages  Cuvier's  Theory;  8  lines  Syriac;  10  lines 
Danish;  10  lines  Bohemian;  9  lines  Polish;  15 
names  stars,  10  hours  forging. 

"Wednesday. — 25  lines  Hebrew;  50  pages  of  as 
tronomy;  1 11  hours  forging. 

"  Thursday. — 55  lines  Hebrew;  8  lines  Syriac ;  11 
hours  forging. 

"Friday. — Unwell;  12  hours  forging. 

"Saturday. — Unwell;  50  pages  Natural  Philoso 
phy;  10  hours  forging. 

"Sunday. — Lesson  for  Bible  class." 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  45 

So  wore  on  the  year  of  1837.  The  next  year  he 
engaged  himself  to  work  by  the  piece,  and  was 
thus  able  to  arrange  his  time  so  as  to  make  the  li 
brary  of  use  to  him.  Burritt  had  already  studied  the 
Celtic  tongue,  and  with  this  an  interesting  circum 
stance  is  connected;  he  found  in  the  library  a 
grammar  and  dictionary  of  the  Celto-Breton  tongue, 
which  had  been  presented  by  the  Royal  Antiquarian 
Society  of  Paris.  Suddenly  it  occurred  to  him  that 
it  would  be  a  fine  thing  to  write  a  letter  in  that 
language  to  the  president  of  that  society.  In  three 
months  the  language  was  mastered,  and  the  letter 
duly  forwarded  to  Paris,  in  August,  1838. 

About  a  year  afterwards,  a  gentleman  residing  in 
Worcester,  presented  himself  before  him,  as  he  was 
at  work  at  the  anvil,  bearing  in  his  hand  a  large 
packet  addressed  to  him.  This  was  from  the  Royal 
Antiquarian  Society  of  Paris,  containing  a  letter 
from  the  secretary,  acknowledging,  with  honorable 
mention,  his  communication  in  the  Celto-Breton 
tongue;  and  forwarding  to  him  the  Transactions  of 
the  Society,  and  many  other  interesting  documents. 
Burritt  declares  this  to  be  the  most  gratifying  inci 
dent  that  ever  occurred  to  him  connected  with  his 
studies.  About  the  time  of  this  remarkable  letter, 
he  commenced  his  studies  of  the  various  languages 
of  the  Scandinavian  and  Sclavonic  field. 

He  had  begun  to  communicate,  as  we  have  al 
ready  said,  with  the  public  through  his  pen,  and  he 
now  conceived  that  he  might  add  to  his  small 
earnings  by  translations  from  various  tongues,  par 
ticularly  the  German.  He  wrote,  therefore,  to  a 
gentleman  whom  he  thought  could  be  helpful  in 
this  way,  giving  him  a  short  history  of  his  life  and 
of  his  present  views.  This  letter  was  sent  to 
Governor  Everett.  Governor  Everett  read  his  letter 
at  a  public  meeting.  A  great  deal  was  said  on  the 
subject,  and  all  at  once  he  found  himself,  as  he 
says,  "  laboring  under  notoriety." 


46  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  he  received  an  invitation 
to  go  to  Boston  on  a  visit  to  his  excellency.  To 
this  city,  accordingly,  he  once  more  came.  How 
different  this  time  to  the  last ;  then  poor  and  foot 
sore,  and  oppressed  by  a  sense  of  his  own  nothing 
ness —  now  on  a  visit  to  Governor  Everett,  by  his 
own  express  desire ! 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  kindness  with  which 
he  was  received;  every  offer  was  made  him  which 
could  facilitate  his  studies;  he  was  requested  even 
to  enter  Harvard  College ;  many  were  the  persons 
who  generously  came  forward  to  assist  him,  and 
oner  him  every  advantage  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
studies;  but  he  preferred  the  old  course;  there  was 
a  pleasure  to  him  in  it;  he  loved  to  feel  that  he  was 
still  of  the  ranks  of  the  working  man.  Hear  this, 
working  men  of  America,  and  honor  him  for  it.  He 
was  happy,  he  was  proud  to  labor  with  his  hands 
as  you  do !  He  courteously  declined  the  help  prof 
fered  to  him  by  the  great  and  the  wealthy,  and 
stated  that  he  thought  he  could  make  better  pro 
gress  by  pursuing  his  own  course. 

He  returned  again  to  Worcester,  applied  to  labor 
harder  than  ever,  and  commenced,  in  1839,  a  month 
ly  periodical  called  the  Literary  Gemini,  in  English 
and  French,  designed  principally  for  the  students 
of  the  latter  language.  This  was  not  a  successful 
speculation  to  him,  and  after  a  year  it  was  discon 
tinued.  His  fame,  however,  by  this  time,  had  spread 
far  and  wide;  and  during  the  winter  of  1840,  he  re 
ceived  invitations  to  lecture  in  various  cities,  which 
he  accepted.  In  Is41,  finding  his  journeyman's 
wages  inadequate  to  his  requirings,  he  began  to  trade 
a  little  on  his  own  account.  He  hired  an  anvil, 
which  he  set  up  in  one  comer  of  the  shop,  and 
worked  here  at  over-time,  in  the  making  of  garden- 
tools,  which  brought  in  a  little  extra  money.  All 
went  to  assist  in  his  favorite  studies,  and  his  life 
was  happy. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  47 

As  may  naturally  be  supposed,  the  press  was 
anxious  to  obtain  his  aid,  or  the  advantage  of  his 
name.  He  wrote  accordingly;  more  particularly 
for  the  American  Eclectic  Review,  which  was  intended 
to  contain  the  literature  of  the  world.  For  this 
work  he  translated  several  of  the  Icelandic  Sagas, 
as  well  as  a  series  of  papers  from  the  Samaritan, 
Aralic,  and  Hebrew.  During  the  winter  of  1842, 
he  again  lectured,  among  other  places,  at  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Albany,  &c.,  where  the 
fame  of  his  acquirements,  as  well  as  admiration  of 
his  character,  drew  together  large  audiences.  In 
the  course  of  this  season  he  lectured  no  less  than 
sixty-eight  times.  In  the  spring  he  returned  to  his 
trade  in  Worcester,  where  he  commenced  the  study 
of  the  Ethiopic,  Persian,  and  Turkish  languages. 

Thus  passed  his  time  for  the  next  two  years;  in 
the  winter  lecturing — in  the  summer  working  and 
studying.  After  that  time,  in  1844,  having  saved  a 
few  hundred  dollars,  he  commenced  his  paper,  called 
The  Christian  Citizen;  a  paper  portioned  out  in  a 
systematic  manner,  and  devoted  to  religion,  peace, 
anti-slavery  advocacy,  education,  and  general  in 
formation.  With  regard  to  the  subject  of  peace,  we 
must  state  that,  shortly  before  this  time,  his  mind 
had  taken  a  decided  bent.  Naturally  there  was  a 
tendency  in  him,  as  every  one  must  believe,  to  an 
admiration  of  the  heroic.  The  vanquisher  of  diffi 
culties,  the  victor  in  any  sense,  was  to  his  feeling 
an  object  of  respect  and  admiration. 
^  On  the  16th  of  June,  1845,  Burritt  left  America 
for  England.  He  went  out  in  the  Hibernia,  the 
same  vessel  which  carried  the  news  of  the  settle 
ment  of  the  Oregon  question.  At  the  very  moment 
when  he  stepped  on  board,  he  heard  the  joyful 
tidings  announced  that  there  should  be  no  war. 

For  a  year  or  two  he  had  been  agitating  in  his 
mind  the  scheme  of  a  grand  Peace  League,  which 
should  be,  to  all  questions  of  peace  and  free  trade 


48  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

what  the  Anti-Corn-Law  League  had  already  been 
to  that  question.  He  wished  that  every  one,  of  any 
land,  who  was  willing  to  cooperate,  should  be 
members  of  it ;  that  it  should  embrace  all  nations ; 
that  the  very  world  should  be  its  platform.  The 
scheme  is  a  grand  one;  and  it  seems  to  him,  on 
coming  to  England,  that  a  conjuncture  of  favorable 
circumstances  at  that  moment  was  propitious  to  its 
commencement.  The  idea  was  never  absent  from 
his  mind,  but  even  more  suddenly  than  he  expected 
did  he  bring  it  into  operation.  He  was  on  his  way 
to  London,  alone  and  on  foot,  when  he  came  to  the 
small  town  of  Pershore,  nine  miles  from  Wor 
cester,  on  the  evening  of  July  29th.  It  was  his  in 
tention  to  stay  here  for  a  day  or  two  to  write. 
Here  he  drew  up  the  pledge  which  he  intended 
to  be  signed  by  the  members  of  the  future  League 
of  Peace;  he  bought  a  little  note  book,  into  which  he 
entered  it.  The  same  evening,  a  Mr.  Conn  invited 
him  to  drink  tea  with  him  and  his  friends.  There 
were  about  twenty  in  number ;  he  spoke  of  the 
pledge,  and  read  it  to  them,  having  first  signed  his 
own  name  to  it;  at  once  were  added,  as  he  himself 
has  chronicled  in  this  same  little  book,  "the  names 
of  seventeen  men  of  Pershore — good  men  and  true." 
Thus  commenced  the  league  of  universal  brother 
hood — may  it  gather  the  whole  world  in  one  fra 
ternal  embrace ! 

Burritt  has  traveled  already  through  many  parts 
of  England,  meeting  everywhere  with  a  cordial 
welcome.  At  the  same  time  the  League  of  Peace 
progresses  rapidly  in  America ;  its  numbers  increase 
daily  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  and  thus  shall 
two  great  countries  be  knit  together. 

Mr.  Burritt  was  born  at  New  Britain,  Connecti 
cut.  "Dec.  8,  1811.  He  is  in  his  37th  year. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  49 


MARTIN  VAN  BUREN. 

I 

Although  the  history  of  this  eminently  self-made 
man  is  familiar  to  all,  a  synopsis  of  it'  cannot  be 
omitted  in  a  work  of  this  character. 

Martin  Van  Buren  was  born  at  Kinderhook,  Co 
lumbia  county,  New  York,  on  the  5th  of  Decem 
ber,  1782.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Abraham  Van 
Buren,  a  farmer  of  moderate  means,  and  who  was 
descended  from  one  of  those  families  "who  at  an 
early  period  in  the  history  of  this  country,  emigrat 
ed  from  Holland,  and  settled  in  the  ancient  town 
of  Kinderhook."  He  was  a  man  of  strong  common 
sense,  and  distinguished  for  his  pacific  disposition. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Hoes,  is  said  to 
have  been  a  woman  of  amiable  disposition,  exem 
plary  piety,  and  more  than  ordinary  sagacity. 

Martin,  their  son,  at  a  very  early  age,  exhibited 
signs  of  a  superior  understanding,  but  owing  to 
the  moderate  property  of  his  father,  his  opportuni 
ties  for  early  instruction  were  few.  Even  at  that 
period  he  gave  indications  of  what  he  afterwards 
became,  as  the  following  incident,  related  to  the 
writer  some  years  ago,  by  an  aged  relative  of  the 
•family,  will  show. 

"Martin  and  I,"  said  our  informant,  "when  quite 
young  lads,  were  accustomed  to  play  together  in  a 
barn  near  our  dwelling.  On  one  occasion  he  lay 
on  his  back  upon  the  barn  floor  for  a  considerable 
time,  as  if  in  deep  study.  What  ails  you,  Martin? 
said  I;  whereupon  he  sat  up,  and  slapping  his 
thigh,  said :  '  I  '11  tell  you  what— from  this  time 
rrn  determined  to  be  something  or  nothing.'" 

It  appears  that  he  was  remarkably  fond  of  mis 
chief,  generally  taking  the  lead  in  any  boyish 
frolic.  The  writer  has  seen  the  tears  roll  down 


50  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

the  cheeks  of  an  old  Dutchman  named  Younghans, 
as  he  would  laughingly  relate  how  "  he  used  to 
chase  that  young  Martin  out  of  his  orchard,"  and 
that  how,  "  without  shoes  or  stockings,  the  mis 
chievous  youngster  would  scamper  over  the  fence 
like  a  squirrel." 

At  the  age  of  fourteen,  with  but  very  slender  ac 
quisitions,  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  Francis  Sylvester  Esq.,  a  respectable  law 
yer  of  Kinderhook,  where  he  soon  gave  indications 
of  no  ordinary  ability  as  a  speaker  and  a  reasoner. 
The  last  year  of  his  preparatory  studies  was  passed 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  under  the  superinten 
dence  of  Mr.  William  P.  Van  Ness,  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  bar.  In  November,  1803,  in  his 
twenty-first  year,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  admitted  an 
attorney  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New 
York ;  after  which  he  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  his  native  village.  Here  he  con 
tinued  until  his  removal  to  Hudson,  in  1808,  in 
which  place  he  remained  until  his  final  withdrawal 
from  the  bar,  in  1828. 

In  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age  he  became  a  state 
senator.  In  1815  he  was  appointed  attorney-gene 
ral.  In  the  spring  of  1816  he  was  reflected  to  the 
state  senate  for  a  further  period  of  four  years.  In 
1821  he  took  his  seat  in  the  United  States  senate. 
On  the  1st  of  January,  1829,  he  became  governor 
of  the  state  of  New  York.  In  March,  of  the  same 
year,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Jackson,  secre 
tary  of  state  of  the  United  States.  In  1831,  he 
went  as  minister  to  England;  but  in  January,  1832, 
his  nomination  was  rejected  in  the  senate  by  the 
casting  vote  of  the  vice-president.  On  the  4th  of 
March,  1833,  he  was  inaugurated  as  vice-president, 
and  on  the  4th  of  March,  1837,  the  boy  who,  when 
lying  on  the  barn  floor,  declared  that  "  from  that 
time  he  would  be  something  or  nothing,"  became 
President  of  the  United  States! 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  5  ^ 

What  an  encouraging  example  does  his  success 
present  to  the  young  men  of  the  country !  Few 
are  denied  advantages  of  education  fully  equal  to 
those  which  he  possessed.  But  let  them  bear  in 
mind  that 

Not  without  toil  is  Fame's  bright  palace  won; 
Or  glory's  race,  with  faltering  footsteps  won. 


JOHN  VAN  BUREN. 

This  distinguished  gentleman,  the  son  of  Martin 
Van  Buren,  ex-president  of  the  United  States,  was 
born  at  Hudson,  Columbia  county,  New  York,  on 
the  18th  of  February,  1810.  He  graduated  with 
honor  at  Yale  College,  New  Haven,  in  September, 
1828.  He  studied  law  with  the  Hon.  Benjamin  F. 
Butler,  first  at  Albany,  and  afterwards  at  Washing 
ton  city.  He  concluded  his  legal  studies  with  the 
Hon.  Aaron  Vanderpoel.  He  is  represented  as 
having  devoted  himself  with  untiring  zeal  to  his 
profession,  and  like  his  father,  frequently  in  the 
stillness  of  the  night  "burying  his  whole  soul  in 
the  researches  of  science,  and  at  that  propitious 
season,  kneeling  at  the  shrine  of  that  jealous  mis 
tress  which  knows  no  rival."  In  July,  1831,  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  August  of  the  same 
year,  as  one  of  the  legation,  he  accompanied  his 
father  to  London ;  the  latter  going  as  Minister  to 
England.  During  a  few  years  absence,  the  subject 
of  this  notice  embraced  every  opportunity  of  in 
dulging  his  love  of  the  sublime  and  beautiful — 
rambling  among  the  ancient  ruins  of  baronical 
grandeur,  and  visiting  the  feudal  castles,  venerable 
abbeys,  and  old  English  churches: 


52  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

As  beautiful  they  stand, 
Those  ancient  altars  of  our  father  land  ! 
Amid  the  pasture  fields  and  dark  green  woods, 
Amid  the  mountains,  clouds,  and  solitudes; 
By  rivers  broad,  that  rush  into  the  sea, 

By  little  brooks,  that  with  a  lisping  sound, 
Like  playful  children,  run  by  copse  and  lea ! 

Each  in  its  little  spot  of  holy  ground, 
How  beautiful  they  stand, 
Those  old  gray  churches  of  our  father  land  ! 

He  also  visited  France,  Switzerland,  and  Italy, 
traveling  among  the  "fallen  columns,  crumbling 
walls,  and  ivied  arches,  and  all  the  sad  relics  of  the 
mighty  race  which  once  thronged  upon  the  banks 
of  the  Tiber,  and  sported  upon  its  golden  waves." 

On  the  rejection  of  his  father  by  the  Senate,  in 
1832,  Mr.  Van  Buren  returned  with  him  to  the 
United  States. 

On  the  22d  of  June,- 1841,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Elizabeth  Vanderpoe], 
eldest  daughter  of  the  late  James  Vanderpoel,  judge 
of  the  third  circuit.  But  in  this  life  shade  and  sun 
shine  alternately  follow.  Shortly  after  their  mar 
riage,  his  lady's  health  began  to  decline,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1843,  with  a  view  of  restoring  it,  they  visited 
the  island  of  Madeira.  The  air  was  balmy,  and 
the  spirit  of  man  glowed  as  if  a  new  effusion  of  the 
elements  of  health  had  issued  from  the  gates  of 
heaven ;  but  the  breeze,  pure,  delicious,  and  invigo 
rating  as  it  was,  freshening  to  all  the  pulses  of  na 
ture,  came  not  to  her  with  "  healing  power."  After 
spending  the  winter  there,  they  returned  by  the 
way  of  the  West  Indies,  passing  sometime  in  several 
of  the  West  India  Islands,  particularly  in  Santa 
Croix,  that  isle  of  undying  verdure,  with  its  purple 
hills,  and  sky  of  purest  azure.  The  destroyer  how 
ever  could  not  be  eluded.  He  followed  her  over 
the  deep  blue  ocean,  over  the  lofty  mountain,  by 
the  thundering  cataract,  and  through  forest,  glade 
and  glen;  and  shortly  after  her  return,  in  November, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  53 

1844,  the  fatal  dart  was  sped,  and  Mrs.  Van  Buren 
left  the  perishing  things  of  earth  for  that  "  better 
land." 

Life  is  full  of  instruction.  "If  sorrow  never 
visited  man,  he  would  spend  his  days  in  delicious 
dreams,  until  startled  by  the  cold  hand  of  death. 
The  Creator  seems  to  have  designed  that  fallen  hu 
manity  should  be  marked  by  vicissitude.  The 
stream  is  broken  by  obstacles  that  make  music,  and 
keep  its  waters  pure;  the  crushed  flower  yields 
sweetest  fragrance,  and  the  rock  rent  discloses  its 
gems." 

In  May,  1838,  Mr.  Van  Buren  visited  England  on 
professional  business.  The  coronation  of  Queen 
Victoria  in  that  year,  drew  to  London  a  great  con 
course  of  English  people,  and  foreigners  of  distinc 
tion,  and  was  the  occasion  of  much  festivity.  As 
the  son  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  he  was 
invited  very  generally  to  the  public  and  private  par 
ties;  and  the  marked  attention  which  he  received 
from  the  nobility,  and  from  the  Queen  herself,  the 
particulars  of  which  may  be  found  in  the  papers  of 
the  day,  were  of  a  most  flattering  character.  In 
October  of  that  year,  he  started  for  America  in  the 
Liverpool,  a  new  steamer  on  her  first  trip.  The 
greatest  confidence  was  placed  in  this  vessel,  as 

With  foam  before,  and  wind  behind 

She  rent  the  clinging  sea, 
That  flew  before  the  roaring  wind, 

Beneath  her  hissing  lee. 

And  for  some  days  she  went  like  a  winged 
thing  through  the  waters.  But  a  tremendous  gale 
was  soon  encountered ;  and  the  ocean,  rolling  in  all 
its  vastness,  appeared  as  if  mocking  the  puny  in 
ventions  of  man.  To  proceed  was  impossible;  and 
on  the  next  day,  having  made  but  five  hundred 
miles,  and  consumed  half  their  fuel,  they  were 
compelled  to  put  back  and  land  in  the  Cove  of 
Cork. 


54  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

The  far  advance  of  the  season,  and  the  unsatis 
factory  experiment  of  the  steamer,  together  with  a 
great  desire  to  see  Ireland,  induced  Mr.  Van  Buren 
to  defer  his  return  till  the  following  spring.  He 
spent  the  next  two  months  in  traveling  over  Ire 
land,  visiting  Killarny,  Dublin,  the  Giant's  Cause 
way,  Dunluce  Castle,  and  almost  every  other  place 
of  note.  The  merchants  of  Belfast  tendered  him 
the  honor  of  a  public  dinner,  and  every  body  in  Ire 
land  treated  him  with  the  warm  hearted  hospitality 
peculiar  to  the  "Gem  of  the  Sea."  From  Cole- 
raine  in  Ireland,  he  passed  over  to  Glasgow,  and 
spent  a  month  or  more  in  Scotland,  visiting  Fin- 
gal's  Cave,  the  "  banks  and  braes"  of  her  bonnie 
rivers,  sundry  places  "  famed  in  storie,"  and  remain 
ing  a  week  or  ten  days  in  Edinburgh.  Returning 
to  London,  he  went  from  thence  to  Paris,  where  he 
passed  a  month  with  our  then  minister,  General 
Cass;  thence  through  France,  Belgium  and  Hol 
land,  and  back  to  London,  from  whence  he  return 
ed  to  New  York,  by  the  Great  Western,  in  May, 
1839,  having  passed  a  very  agreeable  twelve-month, 
and  accomplished  the  business  which  carried  him 
out.  While  in  Europe,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to 
form  the  acquaintance,  and  enjoy  the  society,  of 
most  of  the  eminent  men  of  the  countries  through 
which  he  passed. 

On  the  first  Monday  of  February,  1845,  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  appointed  attorney-general  of  the  state 
of  New  York,  for  the  term  of  three  years.  In  this 
capacity  he  has  been  engaged  in  several  important 
and  laborious  trials,  such  as  that  of  Dr.  Boughton,  at 
Hudson,  O'Conner  and  others,  at  Delhi,  and  when 
he  had  opposed  to  him  some  of  the  ablest  counsel 
which  could  be  procured.  On  those  occasions  the 
public  press  of  both  parties,  gave  him  credit  not 
only  for  his  ability,  but  for  his  liberality  towards 
the  accused.  In  December,  1845,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
argued  a  very  important  case  in  the  supreme  court, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  55 

at  Washington,  having  for  his  opponents  Messrs. 
Webster  and  Ogden.  In  this  instance,  he  by  no 
means  lessened  his  reputation  as  a  sound  lawyer. 
He  is  not  one  of  those  who,  from  vanity,  injure  the 
cause  they  advocate,  by  an  ill-timed  show  of  elo 
quence.  So  far  as  the  writer  has  had  an  opportu 
nity  of  judging,  he  appears  to  act  upon  the  advice 
of  an  eminent  jurist : 

Whene'er  you  speak,  remember  every  cause 

Stands  not  on  eloquence,  but  stands  on  laws; 

Begin  with  dignity ;  expound  with  grace, 

Each  ground  of  reasoning  in  its  proper  place; 

Let  order  reign  throughout — each  topic  touch, 

Nor  urge  its  power  too  little  nor  too  much ; 

Give  each  strong  thought  its  most  attractive  view, 

In  diction  clear,  and  yet  severely  true. 

And  as  the  arguments  in  splendor  grow, 

Let  each  reflect  its  light  on  all  below ; 

When  to  the  close  arrived,  make  no  delays, 

By  petty  flourishes  or  verbal  plays, 

But  sum  the  whole,  in  one  deep,  solemn  strain, 

Like  a  strong  current  hastening  to  the  main. 

In  1^45,  Mr.  Van  Buren  delivered,  at  Albany,  an 
address  upon  the  death  of  the  late  President  Jack 
son,  and  which  was  published,  among  others  of  a 
similar  character. 

From  1840  to  the  present  time,  Mr.  Van  Buren  has 
always  been  an  active  politician,  frequently  address 
ing  public  meetings.  On  such  occasions,  where  the 
powers  of  an  orator  have  full  scope,  he  has  shown 
himself  a  ready  debater,  skilfully  seizing  the  strong 
points  of  his  adversary,  and  disarming  them  of 
their  force  by  keen  satirical  strokes.  He  speaks 
fluently  and  cogently,  and  his  style  is  clear  and 
classical.  And  although  he  has  yet  to  acquire  that 
remarkable  control  of  himself  for  which  his  father 
is  so  distinguished,  and  which  few  other  men  pos 
sess,  the  political  opponents  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  will 
readily  admit,  that  he  is  a  man  of  decided  talent 
and  handsome  acquisitions. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


JAMES  HARPER. 

It  is  four  hundred  years  since  John  Faust  and 
Peter  SchoefTer  commenced,  in  the  famous  city  of 
Mentz  upon  the  Rhine,  the  first  edition  of  the  Bible 
that  was  made  with  types.  The  book  was  finished 
in  1450;  and  soon  afterward,  copies  of  it  were  sold 
in  the  market  of  Paris  at  six  hundred  crowns  each. 
Doubtless,  if  it  could  be  compared  with  the  Illus 
trated  Bible  of  Harper  &  Brothers,  it  would  be  found 
as  much  below  it  in  accuracy  and  beauty  of  manu 
facture,  as  it  was  superior  to  it  in  costliness;  and 
six  hundred  crowns  would  now  purchase  at  their 
establishment  a  better  library  than  the  richest 
princes  could  afford  in  the  fifteenth  century.  Ars 
artium  preservatrix  is  engraved  upon  the  monument 
to  the  koster  of  St.  Bavans  at  Haerlem ;  but  print 
ing  is  more  than  the  preserver  of  arts;  it  is  the 
handmaiden  of  universal  progress,  to  which  we  owe 
all  the  light  and  liberty  of  our  time  and  country; 
and  it  has  so  improved  with  the  ages  as  to  supply 
the  demands  it  has  created.  When  James  Harper 
and  Thurlow  Weed  worked  together  in  the  office 
of  Jonathan  Seymour,  some  thirty  years  ago,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  impressions  only  could  be  pro 
duced  in  an  hour;  but  the  Adams  press,  in  a  few 
years,  made  it  possible  to  reach  a  thousand ;  the 
double  cylinder  Napier  in  1830,  three  thousand; 
and  the  splendid  invention  of  Mr.  Hoe  in  1847,  full 
twelve  thousand  sheets  in  the  same  time,  each  four 
times  the  size  of  those  printed  by  Messrs.  Weed  and 
Harper  in  the  first  quarter  of  this  nineteenth  cen 
tury.  It  was  a  great  accomplishment  for  the  labo 
rious  monk  of  1447  to  p'roduce  a  missal  in  fair 
characters  in  a  month;  but  every  day  there  are 
made  in  Cliff  street  more  books  than  the  world  then 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  .57 

produced  in  a  year.  This  advance  and  activity  in 
the  CIVILIZING  ART  has  been  mainly  caused  by  the 
application  of  the  first  order  of  practical  understand 
ings  to  the  business  of  publishing1.  JAMES  HARPER 
is  the  head  of  the  largest  publishing  house  in 
America,  perhaps  the  largest  in  the  world.  To  the 
reading  part  of  men,  by  the  Ganges  and  the  Ama 
zon,  as  well  as  by  the  Mississippi  and  the  Hudson, 
the  style  of  his  house  is  familiar.  The  brothers,  of 
whom  he  is  the  eldest,  have  made  themselves  rich, 
but  it  is  a  law  of  Providence,  that  whoso  worketh 
for  himself  wisely,  worketh  for  mankind ;  and  by 
their  energetic  and  intelligent  devotion  to  business, 
they  have  helped  on  the  race  with  their  own  for 
tunes.  James  Harper  has  been  honored  by  his  fel 
low  citizens;  but  it  is  at  least  questionable  whether 
any  other  individual  of  the  state,  if  good  accomplished 
were  the  measure  of  popular  favor,  would  stand 
higher  than  the  late  mayor  of  our  great  metropolis. 

The  family  of  Mr.  Harper  was  eminently  respect 
able  in  England.  His  grandfather,  a  man  of  educa 
tion,  strong  sense,  and  integrity,  came  to  this  coun 
try  before  the  revolution,  and  after  passing  some 
time  in  the  business  of  teaching,  settled  as  a  farmer 
at  Newtown,  on  Long  Island,  where  both  the  pa 
rents  of  the  subject  of  this  notice  were  born.  His 
father,  a  fine-looking  old  gentleman,  with  a  ruddy 
face,  and  an  eye  full  of  intelligence,  who  has  never 
been  ill  a  day  in  his  life,  is  now  more  than  eighty 
years  of  age,  and  lives  on  his  farm  near  the  city, 
constantly  visiting  and  visited  by  his  children,  none 
of  whom  ever  cost  him  a  blush  or  a  regret. 

James  Harper  was  born  in  1795,  and  when  about 
fifteen  years  of  age  commenced  his  apprenticeship 
at  the  printing  business  in  the  house  of  Paul  & 
Thomas,  at  the  corner  of  Water  street  and  Burling 
slip,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  remained 
six  years,  in  the  diligent  performance  of  his  duties; 
acquiring  a  perfect  mastery  of  his  art,  and  the  re- 
8 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

spect  and  confidence  of  all  with  whom  he  became 
acquainted,  by  his  industry,  intelligence,  and  up 
right  character.  A  buoyancy  of  spirit,  a  natural 
humor,  free  from  the  asperities  common  to  the  pro 
fessed  wit,  made  him  a  favorite  with  the  young, 
while  his  practical  understanding  and  unostenta 
tious  piety  caused  the  middle-aged  and  old  to  regard 
him  as  a  youth  of  promise;  and  those  who  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance  later  in  life, 
will  long  remember  his  many  pointed  yet  good- 
natured  inuendoes,  which  show  that  he  retains  still 
all  his  original  characteristics. 

The  example  of  James  led  his  younger  brother, 
John,  to  learn  the  same  business;  and  in  1816  they 
determined,  with  some  assistance  from  their  father, 
to  establish  a  printing  house  on  their  own  account. 
With  two  Ramage  presses  and  a  few  fonts  of  type, 
they  commenced  their  career  as  master  printers,  in 
Dover  street ;  and  although  there  was  for  some  time 
but  slight  prospect  of  success,  their  known  industry, 
skill,  and  force  of  character — as  in  the  case  of  their 
illustrious  exemplar,  Franklin — attracted  attention. 
The  first  book  they  printed  was  Seneca's  Morals,  for 
Evart  Duyckinck,  then  a  leading  publisher  of  the 
city;  ffnd  their  business  so  increased,  that  in  1817 
they  removed  to  a  larger  establishment  in  Fulton 
street,  where  they  took  as  apprentices  their  two 
younger  brothers,  and  commenced  publishing  for 
themselves,  by  issuing  an  edition  of  Locke  on  the 
Human  Understanding.  The  rapid  enlargement 
of  their  business  next  led  them  to  189  Pearl  street; 
then  to  230  Pearl  street,  and  in  1825  to  82  Cliff 
street,  where  they  erected  a  large  printing  house,  to 
which  they  have  from  time  to  time  made  great  ad 
ditions,  and  where  they  have  now  remained  nearly 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  Previous  to  their  last  re 
moval,  they  took  their  brothers  into  partnership, 
Joseph  Wesley  in  1820,  and  Fletcher  in  1823.  They 
have  since  added  to  printing  and  publishing,  type- 


L_ 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  59 

founding,  stereotyping,  and  binding;  so  that  now 
they  carry  on  under  their  own  roofs  all  the  branches 
of  the  book  manufacture. 

The  limits  of  this  sketch  will  not  admit  of  any 
detailed  account  of  their  operations.  We  have  men 
tioned  the  fact  of  their  being  the  largest  of  contem 
porary  publishers;  and  it  will  need  little  confirma 
tion  beyond  a  glance  at  the  descriptive  catalogue 
of  their  publications,  compiled  by  Mr.  Saunders  in 
1847,  which  makes  a  closely  printed  octavo  volume 
of  160  pages.  The  cost  of  their  pictorial  edition  of 
the  Bible  was  not  less  than  $500,000;  of  their  illus 
trated  Shakspeare,  $100,000;  and  the  publication 
of  either  of  the  great  Encyclopedias  of  Anthon, 
Brande,  Cooper,  Copeland,  McCulloch,  Smith,  or 
Webster,  would  alone  have  exhausted  the  energies 
of  a  common  house;  but  they  have  issued  not  only 
all  of  these,  but  the  complete  works  of  nearly  all 
the  great  classical  authors  of  our  language — Shak 
speare,  Massinger,  Addison,  Dryden,  Johnson,  and 
Burke ;  the  historians,  Plutarch,  Livy,  Rollin,  Gib 
bon,  Robertson,  Hallarn,  Russell,  Mosheim,  Alison, 
Thirlwall;  and,  indeed,  the  master  works  of  genius, 
reflection,  and  observation,  in  nearly  every  depart 
ment  of  letters  that  has  been  invaded  by  the  human 
mind. 

It  has  sometimes  been  said  that  this  great  house 
is  a  manufacturing  rather  than  a  publishing  one — 
meaning  that  they  have  done  comparatively  little 
in  original  literature — but  the  opinion  is  most  erro 
neous  ;  no  house  on  this  continent  has  paid  so  much 
to  authors,  as  will  be  evident  when  it  is  remembered 
that  they  are  the  publishers  of  Prescott  and  Sparks, 
of  Webster  and  Anthon,  of  Stephens  and  Olin,  of 
Mrs.  Sigourney  and  Mrs.  Sedgwick,  of  Durbin,  Fisk, 
Upham,  Paulding,  Simms,  and,  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  of  almost  every  writer  in  science,  or  histori 
cal,  metaphysical,  romantic,  or  general  literature, 
that  has  been  contemporary  with  them  in  America. 


60  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

The  enormous  extent  of  their  business  may  be 
judged  of  by  the  fact,  that  their  issues  have  amount 
ed  in  a  single  year  to  between  two  and  three  mil 
lions  of  volumes  of  various  works — their  weekly 
expenditures  to  from  four  to  five  thousand  dollars — 
and  the  number  of  their  employees  to  from  four  to 
five  hundred  persons. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  history  of  the  house,  be 
cause  James  Harper's  life  has  been  in  so  eminent 
a  degree  identified  with  it  as  the  senior  arid  most 
active  partner. 

But  James  Harper  is  a  man  of  original,  strongly 
marked,  and  elevated  character.  His  quick  appre 
hension  and  close  observation;  his  travels  in  foreign 
countries,  (in  which  his  wife  and  son  accompanied 
him,  as  well  as  his  intimate  friend,  the  lamented 
and  distinguished  President  Fisk,  of  the  Wesleyan 
university,)  and  his  long  and  familiar  acquaintance 
with  the  most  distinguished  men  of  letters,  with 
whom  he  has  been  brought  in  contact  in  the  course 
of  his  business  experience,  added  to  his  life-long, 
high  morality,  and  consistent  piety,  render  him  one 
of  the  strong  pillars  and  conservators  in  society. 
And  it  is  a  happy  illustration  of  that  prescience  of 
the  popular  mind,  which  detects  moral  and  intel 
lectual  worth  by  a  sort  of  intuition,  that  the  great 
qualities  of  a  person  so  unobtrusive,  who  never 
mingled  at  all  in  the  storms  of  public  controversies, 
should  have  been  felt  and  acknowledged  in  so  sig 
nal  a  manner  as  Mr.  Harper's  were  by  the  citizens 
of  New  York  in  1844. 

The  mayoralty  of  New  York  is  an  office  in  im 
portance  equal  to  that  of  the  chief  magistracy  of 
most  of  the  states,  and  superior,  perhaps,  to  that  of 
any  other  city  in  the  world,  as  most  of  the  great 
cities  of  Europe  are  divided  into  comparatively 
small  municipalities,  with  distinct  governments. 
The  affairs  of  New  York  had  been  managed  ;n 
turn  by  the  leaders  of  the  two  great  rival  parties, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

and  the  people  grew  anxious  for  the  selection  of  a 
magistrate  unconnected  with  the  old  organizations, 
whose  personal  character  should  be  an  assurance  to 
them  of  ability  and  fidelity.  The  lax  administration 
of  the  laws  connected  with  foreign  emigration,  led 
to  the  formation  of  the  American  party;  and  in  the 
year  referred  to,  that  party  nominated  for  this  of 
fice,  with  great  unanimity,  Mr.  James  Harper.  We 
have  been  particular  in  stating  the  circumstances, 
because  the  nomination  and  election  were  in  an  ex 
traordinary  degree  tributes  of  PERSONAL  RESPECT  AND 
CONFIDENCE,  bestowed  upon  a  citizen  who  had  never 
mingled  in  political  affairs,  and  known  to  the  elect 
ors  only  for  his  abilities  and  honorable  private  life. 
Mr.  Harper  conferred  with  his  brothers  upon  re 
ceiving  the  nomination,  and  would  have  declined, 
having  no  ambition  for  such  distinctions,  and  but 
little  confidence  in  the  favorable  auguries  of  his 
friends;  but  his  scruples  were  overcome,  and,  in 
the  face  of  the  most  energetic  action  on  the  part 
of  the  old  parties,  thoroughly  organized  and  with 
popular  candidates,  he  was  triumphantly  returned 
by  a  majority  of  from  five  to  six  thousand  votes. 

NOTE. — We  have  another  fact  to  add  to  this  brief  history, 
and  in  writing  it  we  may  invade  more  than  is  fitting  the  sacred 
privacy  of  domestic  life.  The  successful  and  happy  career  of  Mr. 
Harper  has  recently  been  interrupted  by  an  irreparable  loss,  in 
the  death  of  one  of  the  most  admirable  wives  that  ever  made  an 
earthly  home  a  type  of  the  heavenly.  Mrs.  Harper,  formerly  Miss 
Arcularius,  of  a  family  distinguished  in  the  history  of  our  great 
metropolis,  died  after  a  painful  illness,  borne  with  Christian  re 
signation,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1847 ;  and  after  an  appropriate 
funeral  discourse,  by  her  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Crawford,  of  the 
John  street  Methodist  church,  was  buried  in  the  Greenwood  Ceme 
tery.  Her  memory  is  cherished  by  many  who  had  been  relieved 
from  suffering  by  her  judicious  munificence,  or  been  guided  and 
encouraged  in  the  pleasant  ways  of  piety  by  her  beautiful  instruc 
tions  and  example.  Her  character  presents  a  rare  combination  of 
moral  and  intellectual  excellencies;  and  no  felicities  which  the 
world  can  bestow  can  renew  to  her  husband  and  children  the 
happiness  which  with  her  has  passed  from  earth  to  heaven. 


62  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


ROBERT  SEARS. 

The  following  notice  of  this  worthy  man,  is  con 
densed  from  a  memoir  by  George  Lippard,  Esq.: 

The  glories  of  this  world  are  not  altogether  found 
upon  the  battle-field,  amid  the  bones  and  skulls  of 
carnage.  There  is  one  spectacle,  upon  which  the 
angels  may  look  with  reverence.  It  is  not  the  war 
rior,  crowned  with  the  laurels  of  slaughter,  guiding 
his  war-horse  over  heaps  of  dead  ;  nor  the  states 
man,  convulsing  nations  from  the  tribune  of  the 
senate,  so  that  he  may  reap  his  harvest  of  fame  and 
gold,  from  the  very  baseness  of  political  strife;  nor 
is  it  the  merely  rich  man,  whose  only  religion  is  to 
accumulate  and  gather  fresh  stores  of  gold,  to  sink 
him  the  deeper  in  a  forgotten  grave. 

It  is  none  of  these.  'It  is  a  solitary  man,  toiling 
from  the  shadows  of  obscure  life  into  an  eminence 
of  usefulness;  from  the  darkness  of  hardship  and 
the  work-shop  of  toil,  into  the  sunshine  of  a  great 
and  benevolent  enterprize. 

We  will  look  upon  a  man  of  this  class. 

It  was  in  New  York,  in  the  time  of  the  cholera, 
when  the  school-houses  were  turned  into  hospitals, 
and  the  grave-yards  could  not  hold  the  dead,  when 
the  plague,  and  the  panic  born  of  the  plague,  smote 
its  thousands  every  day,  and  summed  up  its  tens  of 
thousands  every  week,  that  a  young  man  was  toil 
ing  steadily,  in  the  shadows  of  a  printing  office. 

Were  we  to  look  upon  him  in  his  toil  —  while  the 
hot  air  of  the  pestilence  came  like  a  furnace  blast 
through  the  unclosed  windows  of  the  work-shop  — 
we  should  not  so  much  regard  his  plain  dress,  his 
humble  position,  his  long  days  and  nights  of  labor, 
as  look  with  interest  upon  that  manly  though  meek 
face,  enlivened  by  an  eye  that  already  flashed  with 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  63 

great  enterprize,  and  mellowed  by  the  glow  of  a 
soul  full  of  good  to  the  whole  human  race. 

The  history  of  the  young  mechanic  would  fill  us 
with  strong  interest  for  his  fate. 

Born  in  St.  Johns,  New  Brunswick,  on  the  2*th 
of  June,  1810,  he  had  struggled  up,  through  the  la 
borious  scenes  of  seven  years'  apprenticeship,  and, 
with  a  mind  strengthened  by  a  solid  English  edu 
cation,  always  kept  in  view  the  great  end  of  his  life. 
That  hope,  to  convert  the  gloomy  press  into  an  en 
gine  of  immense  good,  to  make  it  a  messenger  of 
knowledge  to  many  hundred  thousand  homes,  and 
have  the  children  of  a  future  age  say  of  him,  this 
was  not  the  Hero  of  the  Sword,  but  the  Apostle  of 
the  Printing  Press. 

How  did  he  accomplish  it?  In  the  spring  of  the 
year  1832,  he  started  in  business,  and  supported  his 
family  by  printing  cards  and  circulars.  The  cho 
lera  came,  and  with  it  the  universal  panic  and  the 
tottering  of  all  public  confidence.  He  was  forced 
to  close  his  shop,  and  take  to  his  journevman  life 
again. 

Still  in  this  time  of  unobtrusive  toil,  a  great  vision 
of  usefulness  opened  upon  him.  While  working  at 
the  press  and  case,  he  determined  to  become  a  pub 
lisher.  Without  capital,  without  the  praise  of 
pompous  reviewers,  without  friends — save  the  ge 
nerous  few  attracted  by  his  unyielding  virtues — he 
made  up  his  mind  to  be  the  publisher  of  useful 
books. 

He  calmly  laid  his  plan,  and  in  the  silence  of  the 
night,  after  the  day's  work  was  over,  matured  it 
into  shape.  He  determined  to  pursue  the  only 
legitimate  method  of  publication — to  advertise  his 
works,  place  them  thoroughly  before  the  people, 
and  leave  the  people  alone  to  decide  on  their 
merits. 

The  cholera  passed,  and  he  resorted  to  his  press 
and  types  once  more.  In  the  short  intervals  snatch- 


64  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

ed  from  severe  labor,  he  compiled  a  chart,  entitled, 
'  The  world  at  one  view,"  placed  it  in  type,  published 
it  in  one  broad  sheet,  advertised  it  for  twelve  and  a 
half  cents,  and  was  rewarded  by  a  sale  of  about 
20,000  copies. 

This  was  a  good  beginning.  The  Family  Receipt 
Book  was  next  published,  met  with  a  rapid  sale, 
and  the  young  publisher  began  to  widen  his  plans, 
and  concentrate  his  resources  for  greater  efforts. 

Undismayed  by  the  sneers  of  the  idle  and 
thoughtless,  the  cold  approbation  of  doubtful 
friends,  he  then  projected  a  work  in  three  large 
volumes,  copiously  adorned  with  engravings,  and 
entitled,  Pictorial  Illustrations  of  the  Bible.  This  re 
quired  immense  labor,  and,  more  than  capital,  the 
confidence  of  the  public.  The  young  publisher  had 
it.  For  pressing  steadily  onward,  after  an  interva. 
of  several  years,  he  issued  this  work  in  the  fall  of 
1840 — risked  his  all  on  it,  staked  every  cent  in  ad 
vertising  it  to  the  whole  union,  and  sold  25,000 
copies.  Decidedly  a  triumph  for  the  journeyman 
printer  of  yesterday! 

Then  he  began  his  grand  mission  of  teaching  to 
nations  and  to  man,  by  the  medium  of  books,  in 
tended  to  be  useful  and  popular,  and  made  to  speak 
through  the  eye  to  the  heart,  by  appropriate  and 
vivid  pictorial  illustrations. 

It  is  that  branch  of  art  known  as  wood  engraving, 
which,  by  its  peculiar  qualities,  especially  presents 
itself  as  a  great  medium  of  pictured  thought.  It  is 
cheap,  available,  effective.  It  can  be  printed  with 
the  pages  of  a  book,  and  with  the  same  press.  It  is 
capable  of  rich  lights,  and  deep  shadows,  far  beyond 
the  power  of  copper  or  steel.  Robert  Sears  has 
called  to  his  aid  this  branch  of  art,  and  showed  its 
powers  in  his  Pictorial  Illustrations  of  the  Bible. 

The  name  of  Robert  Sears  began  to  grow  in  the 
minds  of  the  people,  and  the  homes  of  the  land 
learned  it  by  heart  in  his  numerous  works. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  65 

We  might  draw  large  deductions  from  the  life  of 
Robert  Sears,  but  that  life  speaks  for  itself.  It  says 
to  every  young  man  in  the  Union,  behold  the  fruits 
of  unswerving  integrity,  unstained  morals,  unyield 
ing  enterprize.  It  shows,  conclusively,  that  one 
man,  aided  by  his  own  hand,  may  emerge  from  a 
printing  office,  and  gather  the  harvest  of  his  long 
years  of  toil,  in  the  approbation  of  a  whole  people. 
It  asserts,  that  with  no  capital,  but  a  common 
school  education,  a  firm  heart,  and  an  honest  pair 
of  hands,  a  young  man  may  carve  himself  a  glorious 
way  to  usefulness  and  fame. 

Mr.  Sears  published  several  months  ago  his  great 
est  work,  The  Pictorial  Domestic  Bible.  We  can 
not  but  wish  him  success  in  it,  for  his  whole  heart 
is  engaged  in  the  enterprize;  he  has  brought  the 
honestly  acquired  wealth  of  years  to  the  task,  and 
nerved  his  soul  to  its  successful  issue.  It  is  a  book 
for  the  pulpit,  the  home,  the  closet.  In  it  we  be 
hold  the  Bible  of  our  faith,  glowing  with  pictures 
that  reveal  to  us,  at  a  glance,  the  life,  the  history, 
the  poetry  of  the  Bible.  It  is  a  glorious  field  —  a 
holy  task. 

Chance  may  produce  a  notorious,  but  never  yet 
did  chance  produce  a  GREAT  MAN.  No  man  can  be 
wise  or  good  without  labor.  Bobert  Sears  is  a  firm 
believer  in  this  stern  truth,  and  upon  this  basis,  he 
has  arisen  to  usefulness  and  fame.  He  is  above  all 
sect  or  party.  His  creed  is  simple  —  it  can  be  un 
derstood  at  a  glance,  for  it  is  LOVE. 

We  must  confess  that  this  Bobert  Sears  is  no  or 
dinary  man.  His  books  have  become  household 
treasures  in  the  towns  and  farms  of  New  England. 
The  printed  results  of  his  research  and  industry, 
have  enlightened  the  log  cabins  of  the  west,  and 
penetrated  with  benevolent  light,  the  rude  homes 
of  Texas.  Throughout  Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  New 
Brunswick,  and  the  British  possessions  in  North 
America,  he  is  widely  and  favorably  known  as  the 
9 


66  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

pioneer  of  a  better  age,  in  this  home  literature, 
adapted  for  the  sanctities  of  the  fireside. 

Even  the  queen  of  Great  Britain  has  welcomed 
his  labors  with  royal  applause,  and  stamped  his  books 
with  more  than  royal  approbation — with  the  good 
wishes  and  the  smile  of  a  woman  and  a  mother. 

It  must  be  gratifying  to  Mr.  Sears  to  reflect  that 
the  intelligence  of  the  kind  wishes  and  deserved 
approval  of  Victoria,  was  conveyed  to  him  in  an 
official  letter,  written  by  her  request. 

An  effective  contrast  might  be  drawn  between 
Robert  Sears  and  his  grandnncle,  the  Bienzi  of  the 
revolution,  and  who  was  by  his  opponents  nick-nam 
ed  KING  SEARS.  The  latter  is  seen  jn  the  dawn  of 
the  revolution  at  all  points,  now  breasting  his  sol 
diers  on  New  York  battery,  now  scattering  into 
atoms  the  infamous  tory  press  of  Rivington,  now 
boldly  advocating  the  assembling  of  a  continental 
congress.  A  sturdy  man,  nursed  into  familiarity 
with  danger  on  the  broad  ocean,  he  gathers  the 
people,  becomes  their  oracle,  prepares  the  way  for 
Washington  and  the  signers.  Altogether,  such  a 
man  as  the  Almighty  sends  to  do  a  great  work,  and 
then  retires  from  the  stage. 

The  descendant,  Robert  Sears,  emerges  from  the 
shadows  of  a  printing  office,  becomes  the  publisher 
of  a  people,  and  sends  copies  of  all  his  works  to 
Queen  Victoria,  grand-daughter  of  George  the  III, 
whom  King  Sears  successfully  resisted  on  all  occa 
sions.  The  sovereign  of  the  same  nation,  which  op 
posed  our  entrance  into  the  family  of  nations,  is 
happy  to  receive  American  books  from  a  descendant 
of  a  revolutionary  hero. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  67 


WALTER  FOLGER. 

This  remarkable  man  was  bom  at  Nantucket, 
Massachusetts,  June  12th,  1765,  and  is  now  in  his 
eighty-third  year.  His  paternal  ancestor,  John  Fol- 
ger,  came  from  England,  in  1636,  and  settled  at 
Martha's  Vineyard.  In  1644,  Peter  married  Mary 
Morrell,  a  waiting  maid,  by  whom  he  had  eight 
children.  In  1662,  he  removed  to  Nantucket,  where 
he  had  another  child,  named  Abiah,  who  was  the 
mother  of  Benjamin  Franklin. 

Walter,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  during  the 
brief  schooling  he  received  before  the  revolution, 
never  even  saw  a  dictionary,  but  heard  of  a  gram 
mar  book.  In  1783,  without  any  instructor,  he 
made  considerable  proficiency  in  algebra.  He  was 
also  a  self-taught  French  scholar.  Having  acquired 
a  knowledge  of  astronomy,  in  1790,  he  completed 
and  set  in  operation  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
pieces  of  mechanism  of  the  age.  It  is  an  astrono 
mical  clock,  which,  from  that  period  to  the  present 
hour,  has  kept  time  according  to  astronomical  cal 
culations.  It  is  made  of  brass  and  steel.  It  keeps 
the  date  of  the  year,  and  the  moon's  nodes  round 
the  ecliptic.  The  sun  and  moon  rise  and  set  pre 
cisely  in  accordance  with  those  in  the  heavens,  and 
it  shows  the  sun's  place  in  the  ecliptic.  The  wheel 
that  keeps  the  date  of  the  year,  revolves  once  in 
one  hundred  years,  remaining  still  ten  years,  and 
at  the  expiration  of  each  ten  years,  it  starts  regu 
larly  one  notch.  No  other  clock  of  this  kind  has 
ever  been  heard  of.  In  1817,  Mr.  Folger  made,  en 
tirely  himself,  a  large  telescope,  which,  for  its  size, 
was  of  much  greater  power  than  Herschell's.  A 
self-taught  lawyer,  he  practised  in  Massachusetts 
for  many  years. 


68  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


REUBEN  HYDE  WALWORTH. 

Chancellor  Walworth  is  the  man  who  more  than 
twenty  years  ago,  prophesied  that  "the  time  would 
come  when  men  would  as  soon  be  found  engaged 
in  poisoning  their  neighbors'  wells,  as  to  be  found 
in  making  or  vending  intoxicating  liquors,  to  be 
used  as  a  beverage  in  health."  His  exertions  in 
the  glorious  cause  of  temperance  alone,  have  entitled 
him  to  a  fadeless  wreath,  that  will  hold  its  greenness 
in  the  lapse  of  ages,  and  freshen  through  eternity. 
His  efforts  to  crush  the  serpent  which  was  convert 
ing  the  bloom  of  Eden  into  a  wilderness  of  woe, 
have  caused  his  name  to  be  wafted  abroad  on  every 
breeze  that  fans  the  cheek  of  the  philanthropist. 

William  Walworth  of  Groton,  in  Connecticut, 
his  paternal  ancestor,  was  the  head  of  the  family 
in  this  country.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  came  from 
the  neighborhood  of  London  shortly  before  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  with  Governor  Fitzjohn 
Winthrop,  and  went  on  to  Fisher's  Island,  to  take 
charge  of  the  governor's  farm  there.  He  married 
Abigail  Seaton,  who  came  over  from  England  at 
the  same  time.  While  Kidd  and  his  associates 
were  carrying  on  their  piratical  operations  on  the 
coast,  William  Walworth  and  his  family  were  driven 
from  the  island.  He  then  purchased  a  farm  at 
Groton,  but  died  soon  afterwards,  and  before  he 
had  paid  for  his  land,  leaving  three  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  minors.  But  his  widow,  a  woman 
of  great  energy  of  character,  and  who  had  received 
a  good  education  before  she  had  left  England,  was 
enabled,  with  the  assistance  of  her  children,  to  pay 
for  the  farm,  and  to  bring  up  her  family  comfortably 
upon  it. 

John  Walworth,  the  youngest  son  of  William, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  69 

also  a  farmer,  was  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  He  married  Sarah  Dunn  of  Newport, 
Rhode  Island.  He  died  about  1750.  He  left  nine 
children,  of  whom  Benjamin  Walworth,  the  father 
of  R.  Hyde,  was  the  youngest,  he  being  under  five 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  parent's  death.  John 
resided  for  a  time  on  Gardiner's  island,  afterwards 
at  Horseneck,  and  finally  settled  in  his  native  town. 
In  1774  he  received  a  commission  from  Gov.  Law, 
appointing  him  an  officer  of  cavalry.  He  died  at 
Groton,  without  much  property,  and  leaving  his 
children  dependent  on  their  own  exertions  for  a 
support. 

Benjamin  Walworth  was  born  at  Groton  in  1746. 
He  learned  the  trade  of  a  hatter,  and  worked  for 
several  years  at  the  business,  during  the  early  part 
of  his  life.  At  the  commencement  of  the  revolu 
tion,  he  was  adjutant  of  Col.  Stevens's  regiment,  and 
was  at  the  battle  of  White  Plains.  He  was  after 
wards  at  Minisink,  at  the  time  it  was  destroyed  by 
the  Indians  under  Brant,  and  narrowly  escaped  the 
massacre  which  followed.  He  was  quarter-master 
of  the  detachment  which  pursued  the  Indians,  and 
was  sent  back  to  procure  ammunition,  only  about 
an  hour  before  the  detachment  fell  into  the  ambus 
cade.  His  light  fowling  piece,  which  he  gave  to 
one  of  his  companions  in  arms  when  he  left  the 
detachment,  and  which  saved  the  life  of  its  tempo 
rary  possessor,  is  still  preserved  by  the  family.  Soon 
after  the  close  of  the  revolution,  Benjamin  was  en 
gaged  in  merchandize  in  Dutchess  county,  with 
Philip  Hart,  and  he  subsequently  established  another 
store  at  Schaghticoke,  in  Rensselaer  county.  After 
the  final  cessation  of  hostilities  in  1782,  he  returned, 
to  Connecticut,  was  married,  and  two  or  three  years 
afterwards  relinquished  his  business  as  a  merchant. 
He  then  took  a  farm  at  Bosworth,  New  London 
county,  where  he  resided  until  1793.  He  afterwards 
purchased  a  farm  at  Hoosick,  New  York,  and  carried 


70  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

on  the  business  of  farming  in  that  town  until  his 
death  in  1812. 

The  maiden  name  of  the  mother  of  R.  Hyde,  was 
Apphia  Hyde.  She  was  a  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Jedediah  Hyde,  a  seperatist  clergyman  of  Norwich, 
Connecticut.  H£  was  a  great-grandson  of  William 
Hyde,  (one  of  the  thirty-five  original  proprietors  of 
Norwich,)  who  came  from  England,  and  who  was 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Hartford.  Her  mother 
was  Jerusha  Tracy,  granddaughter  of  John  Tracy, 
another  of  the  original  proprietors  of  Norwich,  and 
a  granddaughter  of  Mary  Chilton,  who  came  over 
in  the  May  Flower,  and  married  John  Winslow  of 
the  Plymouth  Colony.  (Lieut.-Gov.  John  Tracy  of 
Chenango  county,  and  Albert  H.  Tracy  of  Buffalo, 
are  of  the  branch  of  the  Tracy  family.)  John  Wai- 
worth,  the  oldest  brother  of  the  chancellor,  was  a 
major  in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  during  the 
last  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  distinguished  him 
self  at  the  taking  of  Little  York  and  Fort  George. 
At  the  former  place  he  led  the  advance,  and  was 
by  the  side  of  Gen.  Pike  when  that  brave  officer 
was  killed.  He  was  himself  wounded  at  the  same 
time.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  settled  at  Platts- 
burg,  and  was  afterwards  elected  clerk  of  Clinton 
county.  This  office  he  held  until  his  appointment 
as  assistant  register  of  the  court  of  chancery,  and 
which  he  retained  until  his  death  in  1839. 

James  Clinton  Walworth,  the  second  brother,  a 
farmer,  resides  in  Otsego  county,  where  he  has  been 
county  judge  for  many  years.  The  third  brother, 
Jedediah  EL,  was  a  lawyer,  and  died  about  twenty 
years  ago.  The  fourth  brother,  Benjamin,  is  a  phy 
sician  of  eminence,  at  Fredonia,  in  the  county  of 
Chautauque,  and  was  also  a  county  judge  for  many 
years.  The  younger  brother,  Hiram,  the  late  as 
sistant  register,  is  now  living  at  Plattsburg.  The 
youngest  sister  married  Capt.  C.  T.Platt,  of  the  Unit 
ed  States  navy.  There  are  also  three  other  sisters  who 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  71 

are  married,  and  who  reside  in  the  county  of  Chau- 
tauque. 

R.  Hyde  Walworth,  the  chancellor,  was  horn  at 
Bozrah,  a  part  of  the  old  town  of  Norwich,  in  Con 
necticut,  on  the  26th  of  October,  1789,  and,  with 
his  parents,  removed  to  Hoosick,  Rensselaer  county, 
New  York,  in  1793.  He  was  brought  up  to  the  busi 
ness  of  farming.  He  had  no  advantages  of  educa 
tion,  except  what  he  obtained  at  a  common  village 
school.  He  has  repeatedly  said,  that  he  has  all  his 
life  felt  the  loss  of  a  liberal  education,  and  that  he 
could  have  been  a  much  more  useful  member  of 
the  community,  had  he  enjoyed  the  advantages  in 
this  respect,  which  are  possessed  by  so  many  of  the 
young  men  of  the  present  day.  So  anxious  was  he  to 
get  an  education,  that  at  the  age  of  twelve  he  went 
from  home,and  worked  through  the  winter,  mornings 
and  evenings,  for  his  board ;  that  he  might  have  the 
advantage  of  a  better  common  school  than  that  in 
the  vicinity  of  his  father's  residence.  At  the  age 
of  sixteen  he  was  himself  a  teacher  in  a  village 
school,  during  the  winter  months.  He  was  also 
engaged  in  the  same  employment  during  the  follow 
ing  winter. 

In  the  summer  of  his  eighteenth  year,  he  met 
with  an  accident  which  incapacitated  him  for  farm 
ing,  and  changed  the  whole  course  of  his  life.  In 
drawing  a  load  of  grain,  he  overturned  it  down  a 
precipice.  Being  on  the  top  of  the  load,  he  fell 
with  it ;  by  which  means  one  of  his  ancles  was  so 
much  injured,  as  to  make  him  lame  for  several 
months.  In  consequence  of  this  accident  he  was 
obliged  to  quit  farming.  He  then  went  into  a 
store  for  a  short  time,  as  clerk.  While  there,  he 
commenced  the  study  of  law,  with  a  lawyer  resid 
ing  near  the  store.  He  afterwards  entered  the  of 
fice  of  the  late  John  Russel,  of  Troy,  who  was  an 
excellent  jurist  ancj  a  most  worthy  man.  At  the 
age  of  twenty,  Mr.  Walworth  was  admitted  an  at- 


72  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

torney  of  the  court  of  common  pleas.  He  then 
formed  a  copartnership  with  the  late  Judge  Palmer 
who  was  an  attorney  of  the  supreme  court,  and 
went  into  practice  with  him  at  Plattsburg,  in- 1810. 

In  the  spring  of  1811  he  was  appointed  a  justice 
of  the  peace  for  Clinton  county.  Ahout  the  same 
time,  Governor  Tompkins  appointed  him  a  master 
in  chancery.  He  was  also  admitted  to  the  supreme 
court  during  the  same  year. 

In  January,  1812,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Maria 
Ketchum  Averill,  of  Plattsburg,  she  being  then  a 
few  days  over  sixteen  years  of  age.  They  have  had 
six  children — two  sons  and  four  daughters — all  of 
whom  are  still  living,  except  one  daughter,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  five  years. 

A  week  after  the  birth  of  his  first  child,  in  De 
cember,  1812,  he  had  the  misfortune,  by  an  acci 
dental  fire,  to  lose  his  house,  which  he  had  built 
the  preceding  year,  and  from  which  he  himself  nar 
rowly  escaped  with  his  life.  Being  engaged  in 
throwing  from  the  upper  window  the  trunks  of 
some  officers,  who  had  gone  on  a  furlough,  and  left 
their  baggage  with  him  for  safety;  he  remained  un 
til  the  fire  broke  in  upon  him,  by  which  he  was 
considerably  burnt.  He  succeeded,  however,  in 
making  hi*  Avay  through  the  flames  to  the  foot  of 
the  lower  stairs,  when  he  fainted,  and  was  carried 
out  by  some  friends  who  happened  to  be  there.  By 
this  fire,  he  lost  about  the  whole  of  the  avails  of  his 
previous  professional  labor,  which  he  had  invested 
in  the  house.  But  as  a  quaint  writer  has  remark 
ed,  "  as  it  would  be  harmful  to  the  earth,  if  it  was 
ever  summer  and  sunshine,  so  would  it  be  prejudi 
cial  to  man  if  fortune  was  ever  smiling.  It  is  ne 
cessary  for  our  contentation  that  we  should  now 
and  then  be  reminded  by  a  fire  or  a  blast,  that  all 
we  possess  is  precarious."  But  this  misfortune  did 
not  deprive  Mr.  Walworth  of  his  energy.  Having 
many  friends,  who  gave  him  sufficient  employment, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  73 

he  soon  recovered  from  his  loss.  In  addition  to 
this,  by  the  death  of  his  father,  he  came  into  the 
possession  of  a  small  patrimony. 

In  1*13,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  aids  to  Ma 
jor  General  Mooers,  who  had  the  command  of  the 
United  States  forces  during  the  siege  of  Plattsburg, 
in  Sept.,  1814.  The  latter,  at  the  time  of  the  siege, 
assigned  to  Mr.  Walworth  the  duty  of  acting  adju 
tant-general  of  the  forces  under  his  command.  The 
whole  of  his  division,  except  the  brigade  in  Colum 
bia  county,  were  called  out  at  that  time,  but  only 
three  regiments  arrived  at  Plattsburg  before  the  re 
treat  of  the  enemy.  On  the  evening  of  the  5th  of 
September,  the  head  quarters  of  Gen.  Mooers  were 
at  Beekmantown,  about  five  miles  and  a  half  in  ad 
vance  of  the  fort  at  Plattsburg,  and  the  enemy,  who 
were  advancing  upon  the  place  in  great  force,  had 
encamped  for  the  night,  two  or  three  miles  further 
north.  Between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
upon  consultation  with  Gen.  Mooers,  the  latter  con 
cluded  to  send  an  order  to  Brigadier  General  Ma- 
comb,  who  was  in  command  of  the  regular  troops 
in  the  fort  at  Plattsburg,  to  detach  two  hundred  in 
fantry  and  a  company  of  light  artillery,  and  to  send 
them  out  early  in  the  morning  to  sustain  the  mili 
tia,  and  the  resistance  it  was  intended  to  make  to 
the  advance  of  the  enemy.  Mr.  Walworth  accord 
ingly  made  out  the  order,  and  rode  with  it  to 
Plattsburg,  arriving  at  the  quarters  of  General  Ma- 
comb  about  midnight.  From  thence  he  went  to 
his  own  deserted  home  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river,  in  the  village,  and  slept  upon  the  floor  until 
daylight;  when  he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode 
back  to  the  head  quarters  of  General  Mooers,  arriv 
ing  there  about  sunrise.  In  the  mean  time,  Major 
(now  Gen.)  Wool,  having  been  detatched  with  two 
hundred  infantry,  had  arrived  at  the  same  place. 
They  were  posted  about  half  a  mile  in  advance  of 
Gen.  Mooers'  head  quarters.  Information  was  soon 
10 


74  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

brought  to  the  general,  that  the  enemy  had  broken 
up  their  encampment  and  were  advancing.  Gen. 
Mooers  thereupon  ordered  Mr.  Walworth  to  take  a 
detachment  of  the  militia,  and  to  proceed  to  occu 
py  a  bridge  across  a  small  stream,  in  front  of  the 
enemy's  advancing  troops,  so  as  to  retard  the  pro 
gress  of  their  artillery.  He  did  so,  and  the  action  on 
that  day  commenced  with  the  detachment  under 
his  command,  when  the  fighting  became  general. 
The  American  troops  fell  back  gradually  to  Piatts- 
burg,  making  one  or  two  stands,  at  favorable  posi 
tions,  where  the  enemy  suffered  severely.  In 
marching  through  the  village  to  the  forts,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  they  passed  Maj.  Wai  worth's 
house,  in  front  of  which  there  was  a  skirmish, 
which  left  many  marks  of  balls  on  the  building, 
many  of  which  are  still  visible.  He  had  some  days 
previous  sent  off  his  family  to  the  village  of  Penn, 
about  twelve  miles  south  of  Plattsburg.  After  the 
retreat  of  our  troops  across  the  river,  his  house  re 
mained  in  possession  of  the  enemy  until  they  left, 
after  the  battle  of  the  llth.  It  had  also  been  in 
their  possession  three  years  before,  when  they  de 
stroyed  the  arsenal,  barracks,  &c. 

A.  C.  Moore,  Esq.,  in  an  anniversary  address  de 
livered  at  Plattsburg,  Sept.  11,  1843,  thus  alludes  to 
the  battle: 

"Meanwhile  Gen.  Mooers,  with  the  aid  of  Maj. 
Walworth,  our  present  chancellor,  Col.  Miller  and 
other  officers,  of  the  4th  brigade,  had  succeeded  in 
rallying  a  portion  of  the  militia,  which  being  order 
ed  to  join  Maj.  Wool,  with  his  detachment,  awaited 
the  approach  of  the  enemy  at  Calver's  hill,  about 
four  miles  from  Plattsburg.  This  commanding  po 
sition  was  maintained  with  so  much  obstinacy,  as  to 
compel  the  enemy,  after  attaining  the  summit  of 
the  hill,  to  retire  to  its  base,  with  the  loss  of  Lieut. 
Col.  Wellington,  who  fell  while  gallantly  leading 
the  3d  Buffs  to  the  charge." 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  75 

Here  it  was  that  Capt.  Leonard,  with  his  two 
pieces  of  light  artillery,  arrived  to  take  part  in  the 
action.  At  this  point,  one  of  the  finest  specimens 
of  discipline  ever  exhibited,  was  shown  by  the  Brit 
ish  troops  on  the  occasion  of  the  opening  of  Capt. 
Leonard's  battery  upon  them.  The  company  to 
which  I  was  attached,  formed  a  part  of  the  left  of 
our  little  army,  and  was  on  the  rise  of  ground  west 
of  the  road  leading  from  Halsey's  corner  to  Isaac  C. 
Platt's,  about  midway  between  the  artillery  and  the 
head  of  the  British  columns,  and  the  whole  scene 
was  open  to  our  view.  Here,  at  Halsey's  corner, 
was  a  battery  of  two  field  pieces,  so  perfectly  mask 
ed  by  a  party  of  infantry,  that  the  enemy  were  pro 
bably  not  aware  of  it  until  it  opened  upon  them. 
There  was  a  dense  column  of  men,  with  a  front 
equal  to  the  width  of  the  road,  and  extending  half 
a  mile  in  length,  pressing  on  with  a  buoyancy  and 
determination  of  spirit,  confident  that  they  would 
be  enabled  to  walk  into  our  works  without  opposi 
tion  : 

March — march — march  ! 

Earth  groans  as  they  tread ; 
Each  carries  a  skull, 

Going  down  to  the  dead. 
Every  stride — every  stamp 

Every  foot-fall  is  bolder; 
'T  is  a  skeleton  tramp, 

With  a  skull  on  his  shoulder. 
But  ho  !  how  he  steps, 

With  high,  tossing  head, 
That  clay  covered  bone, 

Going  down  to  the  dead. 

Suddenly,  with  the  noise  of  thunder,  the  sound 
of  cannon  came  booming  through  the  air.  It  sent 
forth  a  round  shot  which  took  effect  near  the  cen 
tre  of  the  front  platoon,  about  breast  high,  and 
plowed  its  way  through,  sweeping  all  before  it  the 
whole  length  of  the  column,  opening  a  space,  appa- 


76  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

rently  several  feet  wide,  which,  however,  was  im 
mediately  closed,  as  if  by  magic,  and  the  column 
pressed  on,  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  A  second 
shot  was  fired,  with  like  effect  and  similar  conse 
quences;  but  when  the  third  discharge  came,  with 
a  shower  of  grape  shot,  there  was  a  momentary  con 
fusion.  Immediately,  however,  the  charge  was 
sounded  by  some  dozen  British  bugles,  which, 
through  the  clear  and  bland  atmosphere  of  a  bright 
September  morning,  was  the  most  thrilling  and 
spirit-stirring  sound  that  could  greet  a  soldier's  ear. 
In  an  instant  of  time,  the  men  forming  the  advance 
of  the  column,  had  thrown  their  knapsacks  on  each 
side  of  the  road,  and  bringing  their  pieces  to  a 
charge,  advanced  in  double  quick  time  upon  our 
miniature  battery." 

Major  Walworth  again  distinguished  himself  in 
the  battle  of  the  llth  of  September,  1814,  with  the 
brigade  of  the  enemy  which  crossed  the  Saranac  at 
Pike's  cantonment,  to  get  in  rear  of  the  fort. 

Speaking  of  the  result  of  the  naval  engagement 
on  Lake  Champlain,  on  the  same  day,  which  was 
witnessed  by  the  contending  thousands  on  shore, 
Mr.  Moore  remarks: 

"  When  the  firing  ceased  upon  the  lake,  Major 
Walworth,  (who  had  been  despatched  early  in  the 
action,  by  Gen.  Mooers,  from  the  plain,  to  station  a 
portion  of  the  Vermont  militia  on  the  Saranac,  and 
learn  and  report  the  result  of  the  naval  engage 
ment,)  was  seen  through  the  thin  trees,  returning 
with  his  horse,  at  the  top  of  his  speed,  and  waving 
his  hat.  Gen.  Mooers  well  knew  the  joyous  signal, 
and  three  deafening  cheers  arose  from  the  line  of 
the  gallant  New  York  militia,  and  spread  like  wild 
fire  on  the  right,  among  the  Green  mountain  toys." 

The  whole  period  during  which  Major  Walworth 
served,  did  not  exceed  fifteen  days;  but  it  was  full 
of  incident.  He  has  never  been  ambitious  of  mili 
tary  fame,  but  as  the  above  particulars  form  a  part 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  77 

of  the  history  of  the  country,  they  could  not  well  be 
omitted.  During  the  time,  his  law  office  was  burnt 
by  hot  shot  from  our  artillery,  in  driving  the  enemy 
out  of  the  village  on  the  north  side  of  the  river. 

In  1818  a  law  being  passed  for  the  appointment 
of  a  supreme  court  commissioner  for  the  west 
ern  part  of  the  state  of  New  York,  Major  Walworth 
obtained  that  appointment.  In  the  spring  of  1821 
he  was  elected  to  congress  from  the  double  district, 
comprising  AVashington,  Warren,  Clinton,  Essex, 
and  Franklin  counties.  Although  the  political  ma 
jority  in  the  district  was  about  1,800  the  other  way, 
the  year  previous,  he  was  elected  by  about  1,500 
majority,  and  his  colleague,  Gen.  Pitchin,  by  about 
900  majority  over  their  opponents.  While  in  con 
gress  he  served  on  two  important  committees,  viz. : 
the  committee  on  elections,  and  the  military  com 
mittee,  and  in  consequence  of  the  feeble  health  of 
D.  Eustis,  chairman  of  the  latter  committee,  most 
of  the  duties  of  preparing  reports  and  bills,  devolved 
upon  Major  Walworth.  It  was  during  the  first  ses 
sion  of  the  17th  congress,  in  the  winter  of  1821  and 
1822,  that  he  first  introduced  the  proposition  to  abol 
ish  the  whiskey  ration  for  our  regular  soldiers,  and 
which  was  carried  into  effect  by  Gen.  Cass,  when 
he  was  at  the  head  of  the  war  department  some 
years  afterwards.  But  at  the  time  Major  Walworth 
introduced  the  resolution  of  inquiry  in  January, 
1822,  which  was  some  years  before  the  organization 
of  temperance  societies  here,  it  was  impossible  to 
obtain  a  favorable  report  upon  the  proposition.  In 
deed  it  was  only  by  great  exertion  that  he  was  en 
abled  to  carry  the  resolution  of  inquiry,  it  being 
then  considered  by  most  men  as  perfectly  visionary 
to  suppose  that  an  army  could  be  kept  together 
without  the  spirit  ration.  Having  declined  a  re 
election  to  congress,  which  would  have  been  cer 
tain,  he  was,  in  1823,  appointed  by  Gov.  Yates,  cir 
cuit  judge  of  the  fourth  circuit.  In  the  fall  of  the 


78  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

year  he  left  his  residence  at  Plattsburg,  where  he 
had  lived  thirteen  years,  and  removed  to  Saratoga 
Springs,  his  present  residence. 

The  most  important  trial  before  him,  as  circuit 
judge,  was  that  of  the  three  Thayers,  for  the  mur 
der  of  John  Love,  in  the  spring  of  1825,  and  who 
were  all  convicted  and  hung  upon  the  same  gal 
lows;  and  the  trial  of  Stephen  Videte,  in  Franklin 
county,  for  the  murder  of  Fanny  Mosely,  both  of 
which  trials  were  reported.  While  circuit  judge, 
he  made  it  a  practice  to  interchange  with  the  other 
judges,  so  as  to  hold  only  one  circuit  in  the  differ 
ent  counties  of  his  own  circuit,  in  each  year.  In 
this  way  he  held  courts  in  more  than  twelve  of  the 
counties  in  the  state,  during  the  five  years  he  was 
on  the  bench  of  that  court. 

In  April,  1828,  upon  the  resignation  of  Chancel 
lor  Jones,  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  Chan 
cellor.  It  is  but  justice  to  Major  Walworth  to  say, 
that  he  would  not  permit  himself  to  be  appointed 
over  the  heads  of  the  then  justices  of  the  supreme 
court,  without  their  consent.  Mr.  Justice  Wood- 
worth  lacked  but  a  few  months  of  the  age  of  consti 
tutional  disability  to  retain  the  office,  and  was  not, 
therefore,  consulted.  Under  these  circumstances, 
the  poor  boy  who  toiled  during  severe  winters  to 
pay.  for  his  schooling,  entered  upon  the  arduous  and 
responsible  duties  of  CHANCELLOR  OF  THE  STATE  OF 
NEW  YORK! 

How  faithfully  those  duties  have  been  discharged, 
the  numerous  commendations  from  men  of  all  par 
ties,  will  be  the  best  answer.  The  twelve  volumes 
of  the  reports  of  his  most  important  decisions  in 
chancery,  and  his  opinions  in  the  court  for  the  cor 
rection  of  errors,  which  are  found  scattered  through 
the  thirty-five  volumes  of  Wendell's,  Hill's,  and 
other  reports,  will  enable  the  profession  to  form 
their  own  opinions  on  the  subject.  As  a  solitary 
proof,  however,  of  the  estimation  in  which  his 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  79 

talents  are  held,  we  would  call  attention  to  his  recent 
appointment  by  the  legislature,  as  one  of  the  com 
missioners  for  a  revision  of  the  code  of  the  state — 
but  which  honor,  in  an  interesting  and  instructive 
letter,  highly  creditable  to  himself,  he  thought  pro 
per  to  decline.  A  highly  respectable  journal,  in 
admitting  the  validity  of  the  reasons  of  his  resigna 
tion,  said:  "  The  liberal  education,  the  real  know 
ledge,  and  the  views  and  purposes  of  reform,  which 
the  chancellor  was  known  to  entertain,  afforded 
great  promise  of  favorable  results.  He  unites  to 
great  industry  and  clear  knowledge  of  our  law,  a 
more  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  judicial  sys 
tems  and  legal  polity  of  other  nations,  than  falls  to 
the  lot  of  many  of  the  bench  and  bar." 

At  the  organization  of  the  State  Temperance  So 
ciety,  in  February,  1829,  he  was  appointed  its  pre 
sident;  and  he  continued  to  be  elected  to  the  same 
station,  until  his  appointment  as  president  of  the 
National  Temperance  Union. 

In  1835,  he  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  LL. 
D.,  by  the  college  of  New  Jersey,  at  Princeton.  He 
subsequently  received  the  same  honor  from  Yale 
college,  at  New  Haven — both  of  which  were  as  un 
expected  as  they  were  unsought. 

In  1840,  he  was  elected  a  corporate  member  of 
the  board  of  commissioners  for  foreign  missions; 
and  he  has  attended  the  annual  meetings  of  the 
board  ever  since. 

Upon  the  death  of  the  late  Judge  Thompson,  a 
majority  of  the  New  York  delegation  in  congress, 
presented  the  chancellor's  name  to  President  Ty 
ler,  for  the  vacancy  upon  the  bench  of  the  United 
States  supreme  court.  His  name,  after  the  rejec 
tion  of  Mr.  Spencer,  was  accordingly  sent  to  the 
senate.  Political  considerations,  however,  induced 
the  majority  of  that  body  to  postpone  the  appoint 
ment,  until  after  the  result  of  the  presidential  elec 
tion  was  known.  At  the  commencement  of  the 


80  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

next  session  of  congress,  a  renewal  of  the  nomina 
tion  being  deemed  necessary  by  some  of  the  sena 
tors,  the  name  of  the  chancellor  was  again  sent  in ; 
and  it  is  well  known  that  every  member  of  the 
legislature  of  New  York,  of  both  political  par 
ties,  joined  in  a  request  to  the  senate  to  confirm 
the  nomination.  But  for  some  reason  which  has 
never  been  explained,  the  senate  neglected  to  act 
upon  it,  until  the  president  became  satisfied  that 
it  was  intended  to  postpone  it  beyond  the  session; 
whereupon  the  nomination  was  withdrawn,  and  the 
name  of  Chief  Justice  Nelson  substituted. 

In  his  domestic  relations,  Chancellor  Walworth 
has  been  eminently  blessed.  As  has  been  previ 
ously  stated,  he  was  united  to  Miss  Maria  K.  Ave- 
rill,  in  1812,  when  she  was  little  more  than  sixteen 
years  of  age.  Entering  upon  the  duties  of  a  mother 
and  mistress  of  a  household,  at  an  age  when  most 
are  occupied  with  their  sports  or  their  school,  there 
was  an  early  development  of  those  traits  of  charac 
ter  for  which  she  was  distinguished  in  later  life ; 
and  when  the  entire  charge  of  the  domestic  ar 
rangement  of  a  large  family  was  necessarily  com 
mitted  to  her,  she  was  found  fully  prepared  for 
it.  She,  with  her  husband,  joined  the  presbyterian 
church  at  Plattsburg,  in  1821,  and  if  there  ever  ex 
isted  an  humble  practical  Christian,  she  was  one. 
Her  actions  proved  that  she  believed  what  she  pro 
fessed.  But  on  the  24th  of  April  last,  a  voice  said, 
"come  up  hither,"  and  the  devoted  wife  and  ten 
der  mother  exchanged  the  tears  of  earth  for  the 
smiles  of  heaven.  Her  dying  scene  was  worthy  of 
the  life  that  she  had  lived;  it  was  a  scene  of  tri 
umph — there  was  glory  in  her  last  words— in  her 
last  look.  She  clung  to  the  cross  as  her  only  re 
fuge — clung  to  it  with  a  tenacity  which  brought 
perfect  assurance  to  her  spirit,  and  kindled  a  glow 
of  rapture  in  her  countenance  while  she  lay  amidst 
the  shadows  of  death.  They  sung  at  her  bedside, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  81 

"  Rock  of  ages,  cleft  for  me,"  and  her  serene  and 
triumphant  smile  showed  that  she  could  appreciate 
it.  It  was  no  common  death  that  she  died  ;  and 
all  who  looked  on  felt  that  there  was  in  the  scene, 
an  unwonted  commingling  of  heaven  with  earth. 

How  happy  will  be  the  meeting  of  the  bereaved 
family  with  her  again  in  that  better  world — 

Where  every  severed  wreath  is  bound, 

And  none  have  heard  the  knell 
That  smites  the  soul  in  that  wild  sound — 

Farewell,  beloved,  farewell. 


DAVID  B.  OGDEN, 

One  of  the  patriarchs  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
was  born  at  the  beautiful  village  of  Morrisiana, 
Westchester  county,  on  the  31st  of  October,  1775 
His  father  was  Samuel  Ogden,  of  New  Jersey.  His 
mother  was  a  sister  of  the  late  celebrated  Gover- 
neur  Morris,  whose  name  figures  so  largely  in  the 
history  of  this  state. 

The  subject  of  our  notice  was  educated  at  Phila 
delphia,  and  received  his  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  about  the  year 
1792.  He. studied  law  in  the  state  of  New  Jersey, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  fall  of  1796. 
In  November,  1803,  he  removed  to  New  York  city, 
where  he  has  resided  ever  since.  He  married  in 
1805.  His  amiable  partner  was  a  native  of  New 
Jersey,  and  has  been  dead  for  some  years.  No 
couple  ever  lived  more  happily  together.  Perfect 
bliss  cannot  be  known  in  this  world ;  yet  if  there 
can  be  a  heaven  upon  earth,  it  is  where  strong, 
deep,  all-hallowing  household  love  is  the  sunshine 
11 


82  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

that  pervades  every  thing  within  its  charmed  circle 
of  union.     Yet, 

There  is  no  union  here  of  hearts, 
Which  has  not  here  an  end. 

But  as  the  glorious  summer  comes  back  again, 
recalling  from  the  earth  the  flowers  and  leaves,  and 
spreading  over  the  sky  the  sunshine  and  the  blue; 
so  will  the  dawning  of  another  life  restore  to  the 
mourner,  the  bright  objects  of  love  and  affection, 
giving  the  "  sunshine  of  faith,  and  the  blue  sky  of 
peace." 

Bat  although  the  wife  of  his  youth  has  gone,  he 
has  still  rich  blessings  left  to  him  in  his  children, 
all  of  whom  are  above  reproach.  Truly  dutiful,  af, 
fectionate  children,  are  the  real  gold  and  silver  of 
life,  and  without  domestic  riches,  all  else  is  dross. 

In  1814  and  1837,  Mr.  Ogden  represented  the  city 
of  New  York  in  the  house  of  assembly,  and  on  both 
occasions  he  acquitted  himself  to  the  satisfaction  of 
his  constituents.  He  is  a  man  of  sterling  principle, 
liberal  feelings,  and  amiable  disposition  ;  and  dur 
ing  his  extensive  practice,  has  acquired  a  great 
knowledge  of  human  nature.  Of  his  professional 
life  there  can  be  but  one  opinion.  He  has  talents 
of  the  highest  order,  and  at  the  bar  he  has  but  few 
equals;  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  say,  that  fora 
long  period  he  has  been  at  the  head  of  many  of  the 
movements  in  the  city  of  New  York,  for  the  pro 
motion  of  objects  of  benevolence. 

As  the  full  moon  sinks  slowly  beneath  the  west 
ern  waters,  so  may  he,  sweetly  and  calmly  glide  in 
peace  to  the  land  of  sleepers,  and  awaken  in  that 
region  where  the  Savior  is  the  only  advocate,  and 
where  reigns  universal  the  law  of  love. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  83 


EDWARD  C.  DELAY  AN. 

Whose  eye  does  not  brighten  at  the  mention  of 
this  name  ?  and  who  does  not  exult  at  the  fact  that 
"  this  man  is  ours?"  From  the  age  of  five  to  the 
present  time,  his  life  has  been  one  of  toil.  Nearly 
twenty  years  ago,  he  grasped  the  banner  of  tempe 
rance  ;  and  without  a  thought  of  retreating,  he  has 
been  pressing  forward,  through  sunshine  and  storm, 
devoting  his  energies  and  his  wealth  to  the  ad 
vancement  of  the  glorious  cause.  No  spoiled  har 
vests  and  desolated  countries  have  marked  his 
path;  but  the  waste  places  of  the  heart  have  been 
made  to  bloom,  and  "roses  have  sprung  up  in  the 
place  of  ashes."  flis  circulation  of  more  than 
twenty  millions  of  temperance  documents,  will  give 
a  faint  idea  of  the  extent  of  his  labors  of  love. 
His  extreme  modesty  would  be  wounded  by  an 
enumeration  of  other  deeds,  equally  redounding  to 
his  honor.  He  has  in  truth,  from  the  beginning, 
been  a  laborer  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  While 
many  were  content  with  talking,  he  was  acting. 
When  others  said,  "goon,"  he  said,  "  come  on." 
It  has  been  well  remarked  that  example  is  a  living 
lesson.  It  is  like  statuary.  It  is  sculptured  into 
form.  Every  action  has  a  tongue.  Words  are  but 
articulated  breath.  Deeds  proclaim  what  is  within. 

In  the  first  temperance  convention  ever  held  in 
this  country,  for  discussing  the  total  abstinence 
question,  which  took  place  at  Albany,  in  1834,  Mr. 
Delavan  introduced  a  preamble  and  resolution, 
warmly  recommending  a  total  disuse  of  intoxicat 
ing  liquors,  as  the  only  effectual  means  of  reform 
ing  tne  drunkard.  The  resolution  was  strongly, 
and  no  doubt  conscientiously  opposed,  on  the  al 
leged  ground,  "that  the  Scriptures  permit  and  sane- 


84  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

tion  the  use  of  (intoxicating)  wine;  also,  that  the 
Savior  not  only  used  it,  and  consecrated  it,  but  that 
he  manufactured  it."  So  great  was  the  interest  felt 
in  this  discussion,  that  over  a  hundred  thousand 
copies  of  a  document  containing  the  speeches  were 
circulated.  The  result  was,  that  many  good  men 
began  earnestly  to  examine  their  Bibles,  and  his 
tory,  to  ascertain  whether  it  was  really  intoxicating 
wine  that  the  Savior  made  at  Cana,  and  which  he 
used  as  a  symbol  of  his  blood  at  the  institution  of 
the  supper.  A  very  general  excitement  was  pror 
duced  by  the  agitation  of  the  question — the  opposi 
tion  appeared  to  triumph,  and  for  a  time  the  public 
discussion  of  the  subject  was  suppressed. 

Not  discouraged,  however,  Mr.  Delavan,  both  at 
home  and  in  foreign  countries,  applied  himself  with 
unwearied  perseverance,  and  regardless  of  expense, 
to  ascertain,  if  possible,  through  the  agency  of 
learned  men,  the  kind  of  wine  the  Bible  approved 
of,  as  a  beverage  in  perfect  health,  as  well  as  the 
character  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  used  by  our  Lord 
at  the  institution  of  the  supper.  How  far  he  suc 
ceeded,  the  first  number  of  the  Enquirer,  published 
by  him  at  Albany,  in  1841,  made  manifest.  In  ad 
dition  to  fifteen  argumentative  letters,  addressed  by 
Mr.  Delavan  to  the  Christian  public,  it  contained  a 
mass  of  irresistible  evidence,  from  the  greatest  and 
wisest  men  of  the  age,  in  favor  of  total  abstinence; 
and  proving,  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  that 
the  liquor  sold  as  wine  in  this  country,  whether  for 
common  or  sacramental  use,  is  not  wine,  in  the 
scriptural  sense,  and  often  not  the  fruit  of  the  vine 
at  all,  but  a  compound  of  distilled  spirits  and  the 
most  poisonous  drugs.  More  than  thirty  thousand 
copies  of  the  Enquirer  were  gratuitously  circulated 
by  Mr.  Delavan,  among  clergymen,  editors,  post 
masters,  etc.  The  demon  alcohol  trembled  on  his 
throne,  and  thrust  forth  his  forked  tongue;  but  the 
truth  went  forth  clothed  in  triple  mail,  and  the 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  85 

gates  of  hell  did  not  prevail  against  it.  The  formi 
dable  array  of  facts,  fell  like  red  hot  shells  into  the 
powder  magazine  of  the  enemy,  and  the  errors  of 
centuries  were  exploded. 

The  second  number  of  the  Enquirer  vigorously 
followed  up  the  attack ;  and  long  before  the  appear 
ance  of  the  fourth  number,  in  1 846,  multitudes  of 
churches  had  substituted  the  unintoxicating  fruit 
of  the  vine,  for  distilled  spirits  and  drugs,  and  the 
colors  of  total  abstinence  waved  in  triumph  through 
the  land. 

In  exposing  the  unrelenting  inhumanity  of  ava 
rice,  it  could  not  be  expected  that  the  subject  of 
this  brief  memoir  would  escape  the  difficulties  with 
which  benevolence  and  philanthropy  must  always 
struggle.  On  the  contrary,  his  constancy  has  been 
fully  and  severely  tried.  But  of  the  triumphant 
verdicts  in  his  favor,  when  sued  for  speaking  the 
truth,  and  of  numerous  other  incidents  of  his  ca 
reer,  it  is  not  now  necessary  to  speak.  It  is  suffi 
cient  to  say,  that  although  now  in  his  fifty-fourth 
year,  he  is  as  arduously  as  ever  engaged  in  the 
good  work,  and  will  continue  so,  until  he  shall  be 
called  to  drink  of  the  crystal  waters  of  the  river  of 
life,  that  flows  through  the  paradise  of  God.  In  a 
few  years  the  fallen  leaves  will  rustle  over  his  last 
resting  place,  but  "  his  works  will  follow  him." 
Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord,  and 
blessed  also  are  the  valiant  who  have  lived  in  the 
Lord.  The  cause  he  advocates  must  prosper,  for  it 
is  founded  upon  a  rock.  "It  is  a  portion  of  God's 
empire,  and  from  his  throne  he  will  defend  it. 
The  angels  have  their  charge  over  it.  The  banners 
of  archangels  are  on  its  side ;  and  from  sphere  to 
sphere,  through  the  illimitable  ether,  its  triumph  is 
hymned  by  harps  which  are  strung  to  the  glories 
of  their  Creator." 


86  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


WILLIAM  G.  ANGEL. 

Mr.  Angel  is  a  native  of  Block   Island,  in   the 
state  of  Rhode  Island.     He  was  born  on  the  17th 
of  July,  1790.     His  parents  were  Quakers,  and  na 
tives  of  New  London  county.     The  subject  of  our 
notice  was  the  youngest  of  ten  children.     His  fa 
ther,  whose   means  were  very  limited,   removed  to 
Otsego  county,  New  York,  in  1792,  that  portion  of 
the  state  being  then  a  wilderness,  owing  to  which 
William  could  have  no  advantages  of  education. 
His  sisters  taught  him  his  alphabet,   and  to  read 
and  write.     He  afterwards,  for  about,  in  the  aggre 
gate,  a  year,  attended  a  summer  school,  taught  by 
very  ordinary  teachers.     He  worked  on  a  farm  with 
his  father  until  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age.     At 
that  period  he  became  acquainted  with  the  late 
William  Davis,  Esq,,   attorney  at  law,  of  Coopers- 
town.     This  gentleman  hired   him  as  a  domestic 
servant,  at  eight  dollars  per  month.     After  "doing 
up"  the  work,   having  much  leisure,  William  de 
voted  it  to  the  books  in  the  office.     His  employer, 
observing  this  love  of  reading,  strongly  urged  him 
to  embark  in  the  study  of  the  law,  which  he  did. 
He  continued  as  clerk  in  the  office  until  the  winter 
of  1813,  when  his  employer  died.     Mr.  Angel  had 
then  to  struggle  hard  in  order  to  support  himself 
and  to  complete  the  term  of  his  clerkship.    Having 
no  time  allowed  for  classical  studies,  he  was  oblig 
ed  to  serve  the  full  term  of  seven  years,  before  he 
was  admitted.     In  August,  1817,   he  was  licensed 
to  practice  as  an  attorney  in  the  supreme  court  of 
New  York.     He  commenced  business  at  Burling 
ton,  Otsego  county,  and  remained  there  until  1833. 
In  1821,   he  was  appointed    surrogate    of 
county,  which  office  he  held  until  the  fall  of  1824, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  87 

when  he  was  elected  to  represent  that  county  in 
congress.  In  182 a,  he  was  again  elected  to  con 
gress;  and  in  1830,  in  such  high  estimation  did  his 
constituents  hold  his  services,  that  he  was  sent  a 
third  term.  While  in  congress,  he  was  a  member 
of  the  committees  on  Territories  and  on  Indian  af 
fairs.  He  also  served  on  several  select  committees. 

Mr.  Angel  removed  to  Angelica,  Alleghany  coun 
ty,  New  York,  in  1835,  where  he  still  remains. 
Since  his  residence  in  that  place,  he  has  had  con 
fided  to  him  most  of  the  difficult  and  intricate  bu 
siness  done  in  the  county. 

In  April,  1846,  he  was  elected  to  represent  Alle- 
gany  county  in  the  state  convention  for  revising  the 
constitution.  He  attended  the  convention  from  its 
commencement  to  the  close  of  its  labors,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  committee  upon  the  subject  of  lo 
cal  affairs.  He  devoted  much  of  his  time  and  at 
tention  to  the  articles  in  the  constitution  relating  to 
internal  improvement,  and  to  the  finances  of  the 
state. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1847,  the  humble  boy,  once 
hired  out  as  a  domestic  servant,  having  three  times 
sat  among  the  magnates  of  the  land,  in  congress, 
besides  filling  other  offices  of  trust  and  honor,  was 
elected  county  judge  of  Allegany  county 

Never  give  up !  there  are  chances  and  changes, 

Helping  the  hopeful,  a  hundred  to  one; 
And  through  the  chaos,  High  Wisdom  arranges 
1      Ever  success — if  you  '11  only  hope  on  ; 
Never  give  up !  for  the  wisest  is  boldest, 

Knowing  that  Providence  mingles  the  cup ; 
And  of  all  maxims,  the  best,  as  the  oldest, 

Is  the  true  watch-word  of  "  Never  give  up!" 


88  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


DIXON  H.  LEWIS. 

Ample  as  are  the  bodily  dimensions  of  Senator 
Lewis,  they  are  but  a  true  indication  of  the  great 
ness  of  his  mind.  Contrary  to  the  general  rule, 
the  preponderance  of  the  outward  man  does  not,  in 
his  case,  affect  the  spirit  that  dwells  within.  He 
possesses  rare  qualities,  both  of  head  and  heart. 
Like  many  others,  he  has,  with  indomitable  energy, 
made  his  way  from  comparative  obscurity,  to  his 
present  honorable  position. 

An  anecdote  is  told  of  him,  which  is  a  charac 
teristic  one.  On  his  return  from  Washington  to 
Alabama,  some  time  ago,  the  vessel  in  which  he 
had  embarked  was  overtaken  by  a  storm,  which  so 
damaged  her  timbers,  that  she  was  soon  found  to 
be  in  a  sinking  condition.  The  safety  of  the  pas 
sengers  and  crew  depended  on  the  long  boat,  to 
which  they  had  recourse ;  and  she  was  loaded  to  the 
water's  edge.  Mr.  Lewis  was  the  last  person  on 
board  the  sinking  ship;  and  as  he  was  about  to 
leave  her,  he  saw  the  perilous  condition  of  the  boat, 
which  his  weight,  for  he  exceeds  four  hundred 
pounds,  must  inevitably  swamp,  and  he  positively 
refused  to  enter,  until  she  had  been  to  land  and  de 
posited  her  living  freight  safe  on  shore.  It  was  a 
question  of  one  life  against  many.  If  he  entered 
the  boat,  all  might  be  lost,  while  he  alone  would 
sink  with  the  ship,  if  he  were  not  rescued  before 
she  went  down;  and  he  generously  and  heroically 
resigned  himself  to  what  appeared  to  be  inevitable 
destruction,  that  he  might  save  his  fellow  passen 
gers.  He  was,  however,  happily  saved,  and  now 
worthily  represents  the  state  of  Alabama  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  89 


GO7ERNEUR  KEMBLE. 

The  paternal  ancestor  of  Governeur  Kemble  was 
of  English  descent,  and  emigrated  to  New  York  in 
1704.  His  mother's  family  were  French  Huguenots. 
His  maternal  ancestor,  Abraham  Governeur,  was 
secretary  to  Leisler,  and,  with  him  and  Milbourne, 
attainted  of  high  treason;  which  sentence  was, 
however,  afterwards  annulled.  The  following  pas 
sage  from  Hale's  United  States,  relative  to  Leisler 
and  Milbourne,  may  be  interesting: 

"  These  men,  Leisler  and  Milbourne,  were  now 
in  the  power  of  their  enraged  enemies.  They  were 
accused  of  murder  and  rebellion;  a  special  court 
was  organized  to  try  them ;  they  were  convicted, 
and  received  sentence  of  death.  But  Slaughter  he 
sitated  to  sign  the  warrant  for  their  execution.  He 
knew  that  they  had  many  warm  friends  among  the 
people,  and  that  though  they  had  sometimes  erred, 
they  had  served  King  William  and  the  protestant 
cause,  with  undoubted  fidelity  and  the  most  ardent 
zeal.  When  about  to  leave  New  York  for  Albany, 
he  asked  advice  of  his  council  on  the  subject.  They 
being  mostly  their  bitter  foes,  advised  him  to  sign 
the  warrant.  Still  he  hesitated.  But  their  ene 
mies,  thirsting  for  vengeance,  invited  him  to  a 
feast,  and  there,  when  INTOXICATED,  they  presented 
to  him  the  warrant,  which  he  signed ;  and  when 
he  recovered  his  senses,  the  prisoners  had  ceased  to 
live.  Subsequently,  on  application  to  the  king,  the 
estates  of  Leisler  and  Milbourne  (and  it  is  presumed 
those  of  others  who  had  been  attainted  with  them) 
which  had  been  confiscated,  were  restored  to  their 
heirs;  their  bodies  were  taken  up,  and  reinterred 
with  great  pornp,  in  the  old  Dutch  church,  and 
12 


90  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

their  descendants  were  considered  honored,  rather 
than  disgraced,  by  the  part  they  acted." 

Mr.  Kemble,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1786,  and  graduated  at 
Columbia  college.  His  father,  Peter  Kemble,  was 
a  merchant,  and  intended  his  son  for  the  same  pro 
fession.  In  1809,  Governeur  went  to  Europe,  where 
he  remained  traveling  until  1811.  Two  years  af 
ter  his  return,  he  received  an  appointment  in  the 
staff  of  General  Porter;  but  the  peace  with  Great 
Britain,  which  took  place  the  following  winter, 
prevented  his  going  into  the  field.  In  1814,  as  as 
sistant  navy  agent,  he  accompanied  the  squadron 
of  Commodore  Decatur  to  Algiers.  In  1817,  Mr. 
Kemble  established  the  celebrated  West  Point 
foundry,  at  Cold  Spring,  for  the  manufacture  of 
cannon,  and  which  has  since  been  extended  to 
other  objects.  He  continued  at  the  head  of  it  un 
til  1837,  when  he  resigned,  on  taking  his  seat  in 
congress,  as  representative  of  Westchester  and  Put 
nam  counties.  He  was  also  reflected  to  the  fol 
lowing  congress.  While  in  that  body,  he  was 
placed  upon  important  committees,  and  was  one 
of  the  few  who  did  a  great  deal  of  work  without 
making  much  noise  about  it.  He  was  not  distin 
guished  as  an  orator,  but  as  a  thorough  business 
member,  he  had  but  few  equals.  On  the  expira 
tion  of  his  second  term,  in  1841,  he  returned  to  the 
foundry,  where  he  still  remains.  It  appears  that  in 
this  establishment  over  five  hundred  men  are  con 
stantly  employed,  both  in  the  iron  and  brass  found 
ry.  It  has  one  blast  furnace,  producing  eight  hun 
dred  and  fifty  tons  of  iron  annually;  three  air  fur 
naces,  and  three  cupola  furnaces,  melting  two  thou 
sand  five  hundred  tons  of  iron,  and  producing  arti 
cles  to  the  amount  of  $280,000  annually. 

In  184K,  Mr.  Kemble  was  elected  a  delegate  from 
Putnam  county,  in  the  convention  for  revising  the 
constitution  of  the  state. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  91 


IRA  HARRIS. 

The  paternal  ancestors  of  Judge  Harris,  of  the 
New  York  supreme  court,  were  among  the  colonists 
who,  with  the  celebrated  Roger  Williams,  settled 
the  Providence  plantations ;  where,  no  longer  fear 
ing  persecution, 

Amidst  the  storm  they  sung, 

And  the  stars  heard,  and  the  sea ! 
And  the  sounding  aisles  of  the  dim  woods  rung,  . 

With  the  anthems  of  the  free. 

The  grandfather  of  the  judge,  Nicholas  Harris, 
was  a  physician;  and  prior  to  the  revolution,  he  set 
tled  in  Stephentown,  Rensselaer  county,  New  York, 
where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death,  and 
where  Frederick  W.  Harris,  the  father  of  Ira,  was 
born.  He  settled  upon  Clark's  patent,  in  Charles 
ton,  Montgomery  county,  where  he  married  Lucy 
Hamilton,  whose  ancestors  were  from  Scotland. 
Her  father  and  two  brothers,  then  residing  at  Half 
Moon,  Saratoga  county,  served  in  the  war  of  the 
revolution. 

Judge  Harris  was  born  at  Charleston,  New  York, 
on  the  31st  of  May,  1802.  When  six  years  of  age, 
his  parents  removed  to  the  county  of  Cortland, 
where  he  resided  with  them,  laboring  upon  a  farm, 
and  attending  school  during  the  winter  months, 
until  he  was  seventeen. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  most  of  the  eminent 
men  of  this  country  spent  their  youth  as  tillers  of 
the  soil. 

"Rob  Roy,  upon  his  native  heath,  spoke  with  no 
less  truth  than  eloquence,  when,  surrounded  by 
the  wild  beauty  of  the  highlands,  he  said:  <  My 
heart  would  shrink  and  wither  like  fern  in  the  frost, 


92  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

were  I  to  lose  sight  of  my  native  hills;  nor  has  the 
wide  world  a  scene  that  would  console  me  for  the 
loss  of  the  rocks  and  cairns  around  me.'  No,  it  is 
far  from  the  dust  and  turmoil  of  hurried  life  and 
fashion,  far  from  mankind  checked  and  constrained 
by  customs  inconsistent  with  nature,  far  from  the 
glittering  lustre  and  whirl  of  pleasure,  that  we  must 
look  for  patriotism.  But  where  hospitality  seques 
ters  herself  on  the  distant  hills,  where  paternal 
love  and  conjugal  kindness  most  fondly  dwell; 
where  vice,  awed  by  the  patriarch's  frown,  sinks 
his  guilty  eye ;  where  the  merry  dance  of  village 
maidens,  bespeaks  cheerful  joy  and  contentment; 
there  may  we  hope  to  find  it." 

On  attaining  the  age  of  seventeen,  Ira  commenc 
ed  his  studies,  preparatory  to  entering  college.  He 
continued  at  the  Cortland  academy  until  his  twen 
tieth  year.  He  then  entered  Union  college,  where 
he  graduated  in  1824.  After  studying  law  one  year 
in  Cortland,  he  removed  to  Albany,  where  he  com 
pleted  his  course  with  the  late  Chief  Justice  Spen 
cer,  who  was  justly  proud  of  his  student.  He  com 
menced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  1827,  and 
perhaps  no  man  has  a  greater  reputation  at  the  bar. 

He  has  been  twice  married.  His  wives  were 
both  daughters  of  Col.  Tubbs,  of  Homer,  Cortland 
county.  It  was  in  May,  1845,  when  the  flowers 
were  bursting  from  the  earth,  and  nature  was  put 
ting  On  her  smile  of  joy,  that  his  second  companion 
entered  upon  her  immortal  existence. 

Of  the  career  of  Judge  Harris,  while  in  the  state 
senate,  it  is  not  within  our  province  to  speak.  It 
may,  however,  be  remarked,  that  in  every  country, 
and  in  our  own  especially,  the  more  conspicuous  a 
politician  is  rendered,  by  his  talents,  energy,  deci 
sion  of  character,  or  peculiar  principles,  the  more 
will  he  become  the  favorite  of  some,  and  the  object 
of  dislike  to  others.  No  man  without  enemies,  ever 
possessed  much  force  of  character. 


PHILIP    HONE 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  93 


PHILIP  HONE. 

Who,  in  New  York,  has  not  heard  of  Philip 
Hone  ?  His  name,  for  many  a  year,  has  been  fami 
liar  as  household  words.  With  none  of  the  ordina 
ry  ambition  of  low  minds,  he  never  strove  to  hide 
his  origin,  and  the  means  of  his  rise.  He  was  born 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  25th  of  October, 
1780.  His  parents  were  also  natives  of  that  city. 
Philip,  his  father,  was  of  German  descent,  and  his 
mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Esther  Bourdette, 
of  French  extraction.  The  former  was  a  working 
mechanic,  and  at  one  time  followed  the  business  of 
a  house  carpenter  and  joiner;  for  in  those  days 
these  two  branches  of  mechanical  industry  were 
usually  united.  He  was  highly  respected  as  an 
honest  man,  and  as  a  good  whig — not  in  the  pre 
sent  party  sense  of  the  term,  but  a  whig  of  the  re 
volution.  Both  parents,  whose  names  are  held  in 
the  most  affectionate  remembrance,  in  1798  had 
reached  an  advanced  age.  But  in  the  summer  of 
that  year,  the  sentence  against  the  city  had  gone 
forth,  and  the  "  angel  of  the  pestilence"  alighted 
upon  the  earth.  About  the  middle  of  July,  the 
yellow  fever  commenced  raging  in  almost  every 
street,  and  by  the  middle  of  August  the  wail  and 
lamentation  spread  throughout  the  place.  There 
was  a  hurrying  to  and  fro,  the  inhabitants  vainly 
attempting  to  fly  from  destruction,  followed  by 
carts  loaded  with  furniture.  The  city,  for  the  most 
part,  was  forsaken,  and  Silence,  with  weeping  eyes, 
sat  in  the  market  place.  Among  those  who  left  the 
contagious  air  of  earth  for  the  refreshing  breezes  of 
heaven,  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hone — both  dying  in 
September  of  that  year. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen,  the  subject  of  this  me- 


94  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

moir  went  into  the  auction 'business,  with  his  elder 
brother,   John  Hone,   and  at   nineteen    became  a 
partner  in  the  concern.     In  this  occupation  he  was 
actively  and  laboriously  engaged  until  1821,  when 
he  went  to  Europe.     On  his  return,  he  did  not  re 
sume  his  place  in  the  firm.     He  was  one  of  the  ori 
ginal  corporators  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  canal 
company,  being  appointed  by  the  legislature  a  com 
missioner  to  open  subscriptions  for^  the  stock,  and 
organize  the  company.     He  was  the  first  president 
elected   by  the  stockholders.     This  office  he  resign 
ed,  on  his   being  elected,   in   1826,   mayor  of  New 
York;  having  served  the  two  preceding  years  in  the 
common  council,  as  assistant  alderman  of  the  third 
ward.     During  the  brief  space  of  a  year's  mayoral 
ty,  he  was  not  idle  in  his  attempts  to  promote  the 
public  good;  and,  judging  from  the  newspapers  of 
that  period,  his  labors  were  not  lightly  appreciated 
by  his  fellow  citizens.     Several  old  residents  have 
informed  the  writer,  that  the  hospitalities  of  the  city 
were  never  more  liberally  administered  than  during 
the  mayoralty  of  Mr.  Hone,  and  that  he  did  honor 
to  the  office. 

His  connection  with  the  aforesaid  company  was 
not  discontinued;  for  up  to  the  present  time  he  has 
acted  as  one  of  the  managers;  with  what  success, 
its  flourishing  condition  will  show. 

On  the  establishment  of  the  Bank  for  Savings, 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1816,  an  institution 
which  has  not  only  increased  the  comforts  and  in 
dependence,  but  raised  the  moral  character  of  the 
laboring  classes,  the  legislature  appointed  Mr.  Hone 
one  of  the  trustees;  and  in  1841,  on  the  resignation 
of  the  late  John  Pintard,  Esq.,  he  was  elected  presi 
dent  of  the  bank;  the  arduous  duties  of  which  he 
has  faithfully,  although  gratuitously,  performed. 
The  deep  interest  taken  by  him  and  his  associates 
in  this,  as  guardians  and  trustees  of  Jive  millions  of 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  95 

dollars,  literally  the  savings  of  the  poor,  is  apparent, 
and  gratefully  acknowledged. 

During  a  period  of  twenty  years,  Mr.  Hone  was 
governor  of  the  New  York  hospital.  This  office  lie 
resigned,  on  being  appointed  president  of  a  board 
of  commissioners  to  inspect  and  control  the  public 
institutions  (of  which  the  hospital  is  one)  which  are 
in  part  supported  by  the  bounty  of  the  state.  He 
has  the  honor  of  being  president  of  the  Clinton 
Hall  association,  the  guardians  who  exercise  a  sort 
of  parental  influence  over  the  young  men  consti 
tuting  the  Mercantile  Library  association.  For  more 
than  twenty  years  he  has  been  one  of  the  trustees 
of  Columbia  college,  and  a  vestryman  of  Trinity 
church  for  the  same  period.  These,  and  many 
other  similar  employments  of  a  public  nature,  it 
may  be  readily  imagined,  occupy  much  of  his  time, 
and  give  him  no  small  amount  of  labor.  He,  in 
fact,  appears  to  be  looked  upon  as  public  property, 
inasmuch  as  his  name  is  frequently  put  down  for 
such  services,  without  the  formality  of  asking  his 
consent.  To  stand  thus  in  the  estimation  of  his 
fellow  citizens,  is  truly  an  enviable  position;  but  it 
ought  to  be  remembered,  that  his  gratuitous  labors 
in  all  these  offices,  entitle  him  to  a  larger  share  of 
gratitude  than  generally  falls  to  the  lot  of  public 
servants. 

The  presidency  of  the  American  mutual  insur 
ance  company,  he  enjoyed  during  the  brief  period 
of  its  existence,  and  this  afforded  him  a  liberal 
compensation  for  his  labor.  The  great  fire,  how 
ever,  rendered  this  company  bankrupt,  and  he  is 
now  settling  its  affairs,  as  receiver. 

Of  the  political  opinions  of  Mr.  Hone,  it  is  unne 
cessary  to  speak.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  say,  that 
he  has  always  fearlessly  avowed  and  zealously 
maintained  them.  His  acts  of  private  benevolence 
have  been  numerous.  He  is  not  one  of  those  who, 
when  able  to  relieve,  send  the  poor  empty  away. 


96  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

As  will  readily  be  inferred  from  his  length  of 
days,  and  the  amount  of  labor  performed,  he  did 
not  neglect,  at  a  very  early  age,  to  provide  himself 
with  that  solace,  without  which  the  pathway  of 
this  life  has  but  few  roses.  In  October,  1801,  he  mar 
ried  Miss  Catharine  Dunscomb,  a  lady  descended, 
like  himself,  from  highly  respected  parents,  natives 
of  New  York.  They  have  three  sons  and  two 
daughters,  of  whom  they  have  no  reason  to  be 
ashamed;  and  the  same  good  Providence  which 
smiled  upon  their  union,  has  to  this  moment  bless 
ed  them  with  a  happy  continuance  of  its  favor. 
The  domestic  concerns  of  a  distinguished  man,  ge 
nerally  excite  but  little  interest;  yet  to  him  they 
are  the  great  and  abiding  sources  of  happiness. 
How  many  honest,  persevering  men,  make  the 
great  mistake  of  living  totally  apart  from  the  kindly 
sympathies  of  our  nature.  But  when  age  comes, 
although  the  money  bags  may  be  full,  what  a  yearn 
ing  comes  over  us  for  those  very  kindly  sympathies. 
When  the  strong  frame  is  broken,  the  eager  ener 
gies  quelled,  the  fierce  passions  still  within  us,  and 
the  strong  desires  sated,  with  what  bitter  regret  do 
we  admit  that  there  are  better  things,  and  more  en 
during  than  those  we  have  pursued.  When  years 
have  brought  on  the  "autumn  of  the  heart,"  and 
we  feel  that  it  is  time  to  fall  away,  how  priceless 
become  the  social  ties.  In  that  hour,  for  what 
would  we  exchange  the  warm  embrace  of  a  belov 
ed  child,  or  the  soft  endearments  of  a  wife,  as  she 
bends  over  the  couch  of  death — when  science  dares 
no  longer  contend  with  the  king  of  terrors,  and  skill 
retires  from  the  unequal  task — when  she  comes  like 
a  soft  spirit,  noiseless,  and  tearful,  and  holy,  and 
while  kissing  away  the  clammy  dews  of  dissolu 
tion,  she  wrestles  with  the  enemy  to  the  last. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


97 


ALFRED  B.  STREET. 

It  was  recently  remarked  of  this  distinguished 
poet,  that  "  he  dips  his  pen  in  sunshine;"  and  pro 
bably  no  American  writer  has  met  with  more  ad 
mirers,  both  in  his  own  country  and  in  Europe,  than 
Mr.  Street. 

The  beautiful  village  of  Monticello,  says  a  writer 
in  Graham's  Magazine,  to  which  his  parents  had 
removed,  from  Poughkeepsie,  when  he  was  fourteen 
years  of  age,  is  situated  in  a  picturesque  region  of 
wild  hills,  smiling  valleys,  and  lovely  streams. 
Every  thing  around  bears  impress  of  recent  cultiva 
tion  struggling  with  the  rudeness  of  primitive  na 
ture.  Forests  are  interspersed,  waving  in  broad 
grandeur— the  plow  is  guided  between  unsightly 
stumps — in  all  directions  the  log  hut  shows  its 
crouching  roof— the  fallow  fires  glisten  in  the 
spring,  and  the  charred  trees  stand  amidst  the  grain 
fields  of  autumn.  Early  association  with  such  a 
life,  gave  the  first  scope  and  impulse  to  our  poet's 
mind.  In  the  midst  of  these  secluded  hills  he  be 
held  the  phenomena  of  the  seasons,  as  they  suc 
cessively  unfolded,  with  the  vivid  beauty  and  ex 
treme  alternations  of  our  climate.  He  saw  the  tro 
phies  of  the  hunter  displayed  in  the  streets  of  the 
village,  and  in  his  vigils  he  was  often  serenaded  by 
the  distant  howl  of  the  wolves.  With  a  mind  of 
quick  and  true  observation,  Mr.  Street  under  such 
circumstances  became  a  devoted  student  of  nature, 
particularly  in  her  wild  and  uncultivated  aspects, 
and  found  a  delightful  resource  in  embodying  his 
impressions  in  language. 

The  years  thus  passed  were  eminently  favorable 
to  the  gradual  but  vigorous  development  of  his  per 
ceptions.     His  pursuit  was  that  of  law,  which  he 
13 


98  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

studied  in  his  father's  office,  at  Monticello;  but  he 
began  to  write  as  early  as  the   age  of  eleven,  al 
though   his  first  poems  appeared  three  years  after, 
in  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  under  the  signature 
ofAtticus.     Among  them  were,  " March,"  and  "A 
Winter  Noon,"  both  exhibiting  great  promise.  From 
this  time,  in  the  intervals  of  his  professional  labors, 
which  he  still  continues  successfully  to  prosecute 
in  Albany,  Mr.  Street  has  been  an  admired  and  pro 
lific  contributor  to  our  best  annuals  and  periodicals, 
and  has  delivered  two  very  able  poeins  before  the 
Euglossian  society  of  Geneva,   and   the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  society  of  Union  college.     In  1841,  the  lat 
ter  college  conferred  the  honorary  degree  of  A.  M. 
upon  him.     Various  compliments  of  a  like  nature 
have  been  paid   him  by  several  of  our  prominent 
literary  institutions. 

Mr.  Street  is  descended,  on  the  father's  side,  from 
a  good  old  pilgrim  stock,  of  the  state  of  Connecti 
cut.  His  ancestor,  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Street,  emi 
grated  there  from  England,  about  two  hundred 
years  ago,  and  was  settled  as  a  minister,  in  New 
Haven,  in  1659.  His  son,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Street, 
was  for  forty- two  years  pastor  of  the  first  church  of 
Wallingford.  He  was  esteemed,  in  the  quaint  lan 
guage  of  the  day,  "  an  heavenly  man."  The  de 
scendants  of  these  two,  several  of  whom  also  fol 
lowed  the  sacred  profession,  and  were  among  the 
early  graduates  of  Yale,  have  continued,  with  the 
exception  of  the  grandfather  of  our  poet,  and  his 
family,  to  reside  in  Connecticut.  One  of  them, 
Augustus  Street,  Esq.,  still  lives  in  New  Haven. 

The  subject  of  the  present  notice  is  the  son  of  the 
late  General  Randall  S.  Street,  who  resided  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  in  the  village  of  Poughkeep- 
sie,  Dutchess  county,  New  York.  He  was  the  dis 
trict-attorney  of  the  third  district,  under  the  old  or 
ganization,  a  major  in  active  service  in  the  late 
war,  and  subsequently  a  representative  of  the  coun- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  99 

ty  in  congress.  Mr.  Street's  maternal  grandfather 
was  Andrew  Billings,  of  Dutchess,  a  major  in  the 
revolutionary  army,  who  was  present  at  the  battle 
of  Quebec,  where  Montgomery  so  gloriously  fell. 
His  maternal  grandmother  was  Miss  Cornelia  Liv 
ingston,  daughter  of  James  Livingston,  of  the  wide 
ly  extended  family  of  that  name,  in  the  state  of  New 
York.  She  married  first  Mr.  Van  Kleeck,  and  at 
his  death  became  the  wife  of  Major  Billings.  Mr. 
Street  was  born  in  the  village  of  Poughkeepsie, 
Dutchess  county,  New  York,  on  the  18th  day  of 
December,  1811.  He  there  passed  through  an  aca 
demical  course  of  education,  and  at  the  age  of  four 
teen,  removed  with  his  family  to  the  village  of  Mon- 
ticello,  Sullivan  county,  New  York,  where  he  con 
tinued  to  live  until  1839,  when  he  removed  to  Al 
bany,  his  present  residence.  In  1841,  he  married 
Miss  Elizabeth  Weed,  daughter  of  the  late  Smith 
Weed,  of  Albany,  a  retired  merchant  of  wealth  and 
respectability. 

The  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  which  bears  se  • 
verely  upon  many  other  American  poets,  says  of 
Mr.  Street:  "  He  is  a  descriptive  poet,  and  at  the 
head  of  his  class.  His  pictures  of  American  scene 
ry  are  full  of  gusto  and  freshness;  sometimes  too 
wild  and  diffuse,  but  always  true  and  healthful." 

Mr.  Street,  says  Tuckerrnan,  is  a  true  Flemish 
painter,  seizing  upon  objects  in  all  their  verisimili 
tude.  As  we  read  him,  wild  flowers  peer  up  from 
among  brown  leaves;  the  drum  of  the  partridge, 
the  ripple  of  waters,  the  flickering  of  autumn  light, 
the  sting  of  sleety  snow,  the  cry  of  the  panther,  the 
roar  of  the  winds,  the  melody  of  birds,  and  the  odor 
of  crushed  pine-boughs,  are  present  to  our  senses. 
In  a  foreign  land,  his  poems  would  transport  us  at 
once  to  home.  He  is  no  second-hand  limner,  con 
tent  to  furnish  insipid  copies,  but  draws  from  reali 
ty.  His  pictures  have  the  freshness  of  originals. 
They  are  graphic,  detailed,  never  untrue,  and  often 


100 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


vigorous ;  he  is  essentially  an  American  poet.  He 
is  emphatically  an  observer.  In  England,  we  no 
tice  that  these  qualities  have  been  recognized — his 
"Lost  Hunter"  was  finely  illustrated  in  a  recent 
London  periodical — thus  affording  the  best  evidence 
of  the  picturesque  fertility  of  his  muse.  Many  of 
his  pieces  also  glow  with  patriotism.  His  "  Gray 
Forest  Eagle,"  is  a  noble  lyric,  full  of  spirit.  His 
forest  scenes  are  minutely,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
elaborately  true.  His  Indian  legends,  and  descrip 
tions  of  the  seasons,  have  a  native  zest,  which  we 
have  rarely  encountered.  Without  the  classic  ele 
gance  of  Thomson,  he  excels  him  in  graphic  pow 
er.  There  is  nothing  metaphysical  in  his  turn  of 
mind,  or  highly  artistic  in  his  style;  but  there  is  an 
honest  directness  and  cordial  faithfulness  about 
him,  that  strikes  us  as  remarkably  appropriate  and 
manly.  Delicacy,  sentiment,  ideal  enthusiasm,  are 
not  his  by  nature;  but  clear,  bold,  genial  insight 
and  feeling,  he  possesses  to  a  rare  degree — and  on 
these  grounds  we  welcome  his  poems,  and  earnest 
ly  advise  our  readers  to  peruse  them  attentively, 
for  they  worthily  depict  the  phases  of  nature,  as  she 
displays  herself  in  this  land,  in  all  her  solemn  mag 
nificence  and  serene  beauty, 

A  complete  and  beautiful  edition  of  Mr.  Street's 
poems,  in  a  large  octavo  volume  of  more  than  three 
hundred  pages,  and  which  has  already  reached  a 
fifth  edition,  was  published  in  the  autumn  of  1846, 
by  Messrs.  Clark  &  Austin,  of  the  city  of  New  York. 
Speaking  of  this  collection,  the  Westminster  (Lon 
don)  Review  says: 

"  It  is  long  since  we  met  a  volume  of  poetry  from 
which  we  have  derived  so  much  unmixed  pleasure, 
as  from  the  collection  now  before  us.  In  a  short 
and  modest  preface,  the  author  tells  us  that  his  ear 
ly  life  '  was  spent  in  a  wild  and  picturesque  region 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  New  York,  his  native 
state.  Apart  from  the  busy  haunts  of  mankind,  his 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  101 

eye  was  caught  by  the  strongly  marked  and  beau 
tiful  scenes  by  which  he  was  surrounded ;  and  to 
the  first  impressions  thus  made,  may  be  attributed 
the  fact,  that  his  subjects  relate  so  much  to  Nature, 
and  so  little  to  Man.  Instead,  therefore,  of  aiming 
to  depict  the  human  heart,  he  has  endeavored  to 
sketch,  (however  rudely  and  imperfectly,)  the  fea 
tures  of  that  with  which  he  was  most  familiar.' 
And  right  eloquently  does  he  discourse  of  Nature, 
her  changeful  features  and  her  varied  moods — as 
exhibited  in  his  own  c  America,  with  her  rich  green 
forest  robe,'  and  many  are  the  glowing  pictures  we 
would  gladly  transfer  to  our  pages — did  our  limits 
permit — in  proof  of  the  poet's  assertion,  that  '  Na 
ture  is  Man's  best  teacher.'  " 

"  Such  high  praise,"  says  the  New  York  Courier 
and  Enquirer,  "  falls  to  the  lot  of  but  few  of  our 
American  writers,  and  we  take  pride  in  referring  to 
the  fact.  Truly,  Mr.  Street  is  a  painter  of  nature ; 
original  and  characteristic.  He  follows  no  one; 
he  obeys  the  promptings  of  his  own  genius.  In 
his  pages  we  find  no  ideas  shadowy  of  others- 
adumbrations  as  it  were  of  thoughts  not  springing 
from  the  mind  of  the  poet — a  mere  effort  of  a  stored 
memory;  all  is  fresh  with  him — his  pictures  are 
drawn  from  the  reality." 

It  is  understood  that  Mr.  Street  is  preparing  for 
the  press  a  poem  entitled,  "  FRONTENAC,  OR  THE 
ATOTARHO  OF  THE  IROQUOIS:  A  tale  of  the  forest,  of 
1696,  in  ten  cantos,  with  notes."  It  cannot  fail  to 
meet  with  a  cordial  welcome. 


102  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


GEN.  GEORGE  P.  MORRIS. 

Gen.  Morris  was  born  on  the  10th  day  of  Octo 
ber,  1800,  in  the  city  of  New  York.  In  1814,  he 
commenced  his  career  as  a  writer,  by  composing 
several  songs.  These  youthful  productions  serve 
to  show,  that  thus  early  in  life  he  gave  indications 
of  possessing  that  poetic  genius  and  talent,  which 
have  since  placed  him  in  the  first  rank,  as  the  song 
writer  of  America. 

In  1817,  he  became  an  occasional  contributor  to 
the  New  York  Gazette;  also,  to  the  New  York 
American,  while  under  the  editorial  charge  of 
Johnstone  Verplanck.  He  continued  to  write  for 
these  and  other  papers  until  1822.  His  early  lite 
rary  efforts  were  chiefly  anonymous,  and  their  au 
thorship  only  became  known  when  he  began  to 
take  his  position,  by  general  consent,  as  a  star  in 
the  literary  hemisphere. 

In  1822,  Mr.  Morris,  in  conjunction  with  the  late 
Samuel  Woodworth,  established  the  New  York  Mir 
ror — a  paper  which  speedily  acquired,  and  main 
tained  during  its  continuance,  a  high  character, 
and  a  popularity  seldom  equaled  in  the  annals  of 
periodical  literature  in  this  country.  He  continued 
associated  with  Mr.  Woodworth  one  year,  when  he 
became  sole  editor  and  proprietor. 

In  1825,  he  wrote  the  drama  of  "Brier  Cliff;"  a 
play,  in  five  acts,  founded  upon  the  events  of  the 
American  revolution.  So  popular  did  this  become, 
that  he  received  for  it  $3,500.  It  has  never  been 
published.  Prior,  and  subsequent,  to  this  period, 
the  pen  of  Mr.  Morris  was  actively  engaged  upon 
various  literary  and  dramatic  works.  He  wrote  a 
number  of  the  "Welcomes  to  Lafayette,"  and 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  103 

songs  and  ballads,  which  were  universally  popular, 
besides  many  prologues  and  addresses. 

Mr.  Morris  continued  the  sole  editor  of  the  New 
York  Mirror,  from  the  period  of  his  separation  from 
Mr.  Woodworth,  until  1830,  when  Theodore  S.  Fay 
became  assistant  editor;   and  shortly  after,  N.  P. 
Willis   was   added    to   the    editorial    department. 
Popular  as  had  been  this  paper  before,  this  rare 
combination  of  talent  was  destined  to,  and  did,  give 
to  it  an  additional  impetus,   that  increased  its  al 
ready  wide-spread  popularity,  until  its  circulation 
reached    12,000    copies.      This    is   not    surprising, 
when  it  is  considered  that  the  editors'  department 
was  conducted  by  such  eminent  talent,  and  so  pe 
culiarly  qualified  for  a  work  of  that  character,  and 
that  the  paper  numbered  among  its  contributors  so 
bright  a  galaxy  of  names  as  those  of  Paulding,  Bry 
ant,  Halleck,  Sheridan  Knowles,  Marryatt,  Tyrone 
Power,  Leggett,   Sprague,  Hillhouse,  Fanny  Kem- 
ble,  Eliza  Cook,  Mrs.  Embury,  Mrs.  Thayer,  besides 
many  other  popular  writers  of  the  day.     The  Mirror 
gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  literary  taste,  and  ele 
vated  the  standard  by  which  to  estimate  that  class 
of  periodical  literature.     Not  merely  were  the  ta 
lents  of  Mr.  Morris  brought  into  requisition  by  this 
publication,  but  also  his  skill  and  taste,  in  its  style. 
He  was  the  first,  in  this  country,  who  published  en 
gravings  on  wood  and  steel,  and  music,  in  period 
icals  ;  which,   in  connection  with  the  elegant  typo 
graphical  execution,   rendered  the  Mirror  pleasing 
to  the  eye,  as  well  as  food  for  the  mind.     As  editor 
of  this  paper,  he  conferred  great  and  lasting  benefit 
upon  arts  and  artists,  and  youthful  writers,  by  his 
tact,  his  liberality,  the  superiority  of  his  judgment, 
and  the  vigor  of  his  abilities.     It  has  been  justly 
said,   by  one  who  was  contemporaneous  with  him 
during  this  period,  that  he,  by  "perseverance  and 
address,  disciplined  a  corps  of  youthful  writers,  in 
the  presence  of  a  heavy  and  constant  fire  from  the 


104  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

batteries  of  foreign  criticism"— that  he  possessed 
"  the  rare  combination,  so  valuable  in  dealing  with 
the  numerous  aspirants  in  authorship,  with  whom  his 
position  brought  him  in  contact ;  of  a  quick,  true  eye 
to  discern,  in  the  modesty  of  some  nameless  manu 
script,  the  future  promise  of  a  power  hardly  yet  con 
scious  of  itself,  a  discretion  to  guide  by  some  advice, 
and  a  generosity  to  aid  with  the  most  important  kind 
of  assistance — the  firm  and  open  temper  which  his 
example  tended  to  inspire  into  the  relation  of  lite 
rary  men  with  one  another,  throughout  the  land 

and  more  than  all,  perhaps,  by  the  harmony  and 
union,  of  such  inappreciable  value,  especially  in  the 
beginning  of  national  efforts,  between  the  sister 
arts  of  writing,  music,  painting,  and  dramatic  exhi 
bition,  which  the  singular  variety  and  discursive 
ness  of  his  intellectual  sympathies  led  him  con 
stantly  to  maintain  and  vindicate."  Many,  whose 
attention  will  perhaps  be  arrested  by  this  sketch, 
will  cordially  respond  to  these  sentiments. 

Mr.  Morris,  early  in  life,  enroled  himself  as  a  pri 
vate,  in  the  first  company  of  the  third  regiment  of 
the  New  York  state  artillery — a  part  of  that  admira 
ble  military  organization  composed  of  the  uniform 
companies  in  the  city  of  New  York.  From  the 
ranks  he  rose,  from  grade  to  grade,  until,  on  the 
29th  of  May,  1837,  he  was  duly  commissioned  as 
brigadier-general.  This  appointment  he  still  holds. 

The  financial  storm  which,  about  the  year  1 837, 
and  1838,  rode  over  the  country,  prostrating  every 
interest,  and  wasting  all  classes,  visited  even  the 
poet  and  editor.  In  consequence  of  severe  losses, 
sustained  chiefly  by  endorsements  for  friends,  the 
New 'York  Mirror  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  Gen. 
Morris,  and  in  1843,  its  existence  ceased. 

In  1842,  he  wrote  an  opera  for  Mr.  C.  E.  Horn, 
called  the  "  Maid  of  Saxony,"  which  has  not  been 
published.  It  was  performed  with  great  success, 
at  the  Park  theatre.  The  author's  benefit  was  at- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  105 

tended  by  the  talent  and  beau  monde  of  the  city  of 
New  York.  The  press  of  the  city,  generally,  award 
ed  to  this  opera  high  commendation. 

From  the  period  when  Gen.  Morris  commenced 
his  career  as  a  writer,  his  pen  has  been  constantly 
employed  in  writing  poems,  songs,  ballads  and 
prose  sketches.  In  1840,  the  Appletori's  published 
an  edition  of  his  poems,  beautifully  illustrated  by 
Weir  and  Chapman;  and  in  184*2,  Paine  &  Burgess 
published  his  songs  and  ballads.  They  were  favor 
ably  noticed  by  the  press,  and  these  and  other  edi 
tions  have  large  sales.  A  portion  of  his  prose  writ 
ings,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Little  Frenchman  and 
his  Water  Lots,"  were  published  by  Lea  &  Blanch- 
ard,  which  edition  has  been  followed  by  others,  en 
larged  by  the  author. 

Gen.  Morris  has  edited  a  number  of  works; 
among  them  are — "  The  Atlantic  Club  Book,"  pub 
lished  by  the  Harpers;  the  "  Song  Writers  of  Ame 
rica,"  by  Linen  &  Ferrin;  "  National  Melodies,"  by 
Hall  &  Davis;  and,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Willis, 
the  "  Prose  and  Poetry  of  Europe  and  America;" 
a  standard  work  of  great  value. 

In  1844,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Willis,  he  estab 
lished  a  beautiful  weekly  paper,  called  the  New 
Mirror,  which,  in  consequence  of  the  cover  and 
engravings,  was  charged  by  the  post  office  depart 
ment,  a  postage  equal  to  the  subscription  price;  and 
not  being  able  to  obtain  a  just  reduction  from  Mr. 
WicklifFe,  then  postmaster-general,  the  proprietor 
discontinued  it  after  a  year  and  a  half,  notwith 
standing  it  had  attained  a  circulation  of  10,000 
copies.  The  Evening  Mirror  was  next  commenced, 
and  continued  for  one  year,  by  Messrs.  Morris  and 
Willis,  when  they  disposed  of  it,  to  the  present  pro 
prietor. 

A  few  months  after  withdrawing  from  the  Even 
ing  Mirror,  Gen.  Morris  began  the  publication  of 
the  National  Press  and    Home   Journal;    but   as 
14 


106  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

many  mistook  its  object,  from  its  name,  the  first 
part  of  the  title  was  discontinued,  and  in  Novem 
ber,  1846,  Mr.  Willis  having  again  joined  his  old 
friend  and  associate,  appeared  the  first  number  of 
the  Home  Journal — -a  work  which  is  edited  with 
great  taste  and  spirit,  and  which  has  an  extended 
circulation. 

Did  our  limits  permit  us  to  make  selections  from 
the  poetic  gems  of  Gen.  Morris,  it  would  be  a  work  of 
supererogation.  Where  would  be  the  use  of  repeat 
ing  that  which  has  already  floated  on  the  breath 
of  music,  through  the  length  and  breadth,  not  only 
of  our  own  land,  but  of  Europe. 

Willis,  writing  to  a  friend,  thus  speaks  of  Morris: 

"  It  may,  or  may  not,  be  one  secret  of  his  popu 
larity,  but  it  is  a  truth — that  Morris's  heart  is  at  the 
level  of  most  other  people's,  and  his  poetry  flows 
out  by  that  door.  He  stands  breast  high  in  the 
common  stream  of  sympathy,  and  the  fine  oil  of 
his  poetic  feeling  goes  from  him  upon  an  element 
it  is  its  nature  to  float  upon,  and  which  carries  it 
safe  to  other  bosoms,  with  little  need  of  deep  div 
ing  or  high  flying.  His  sentiments  are  simple, 
honest,  truthful,  and  familiar;  his  language  is  pure, 
and  eminently  musical,  and  he  is  prodigally  full  of 
the  poetry  of  every-day  feeling.  These  are  days 
when  poets  try  experiments ;  and  while  others  suc 
ceed  by  taking  the  world's  breath  away  with  flights 
and  plunges,  Morris  uses  his  feet,  to  walk  quietly 
with  nature.  Ninety-nine  people  in  a  hundred, 
taken  as  they  come  in  the  census,  would  find  more 
to  admire  in  Morris's  songs  than  in  the  writings  of 
any  other  American  poet;  and  that  is  a  parish  in 
the  poetical  episcopate,  well  worthy  a  wise  man's 
nurture  and  prizing." 

Gen.  Morris  is  still  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of  life, 
and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  public  will  yet  have 
much  to  admire  from  his  pen,  and  which  will,  with 
out  doubt,  Jift  hip  still  higher  in  the  niche  of  fame 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  107 

His  residence  is  chiefly  at  Undjer  Cliff,  his  country- 
seat,  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  near  Cold 
Springs,  surrounded  by  the  most  lovely  and  beauti 
ful  scenery  in  nature,  and 

"  Where  Hudson's  wave,  o'er  silvery  sands, 
Winds  through  the  hills  afar;" 

which  cannot  fail  to  keep  the  muse  alive  within 
him,  and  tune  the  minstrel  to  further  and  still 
higher  efforts. 

Although  he  possesses  abilities  which  eminently 
qualify  him  for  public  station,  his  literary  taste  and 
habits  have,  in  spite  of  the  strenuous  solicitations 
of  his  friends,  led  him  to  prefer  the  retirement  of 
private  life.  This,  however,  does  not  prevent  his 
taking  an  active  interest  in  all  questions  of  public 
good,  and  the  city  of  New  York  is  greatly  indebted 
to  his  vigorous  aid  for  many  of  her  most  beautiful 
and  permanent  improvements. 

We  cannot  close  this  sketch  without  adverting 
to  the  following  incident,  which  recently  occurred 
in  the  British  house  of  commons: 

Mr.  Cagley,  a  member  from  Yorkshire,  concluded 
a  long  speech  in  favor  of  protection,  by  quoting 
nearly  the' whole  of  "Woodman,  spare  that  tree!" 
(which  was  received  with  great  applause,)  the 
"  tree,"  according  to  Mr.  Cagley,  being  the  "  con 
stitution/'  and  Sir  Robert  Peel  the  "  woodman," 
about  to  cut  it  down. 

What  poet  could  desire  a  more  gratifying  com 
pliment  ? 


108  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


WILLIAM  W.  CAMPBELL, 

Was  born  in  Cherry  Valley,  Otsego  county,  New 
York,  on  the  10th  day  of  October,  1806.  His  an 
cestors  came  to  this  country,  from  the  North  of  Ire 
land,  where  some  branch  of  the  family  had  remov 
ed  from  Argyleshire,  Scotland,  during  the  persecu 
tions  of  the  17th  century,  in  the  times  when  the 
Stuarts  brought  to  the  block,  in  Edinburgh,  two 
of  the  clan,  a  marquis  and  an  earl  of  Argyle,  for 
their  attachment  to  the  reformed  religion,,  and  op 
position  to  the  cruel  treatment  of  their  countrymen 
by  the  profligate  associates  of  Charles  II.,  and 
James  II.  The  Campbells  of  Scotland,  from 
whom  the  subject  of  this  notice  is  descended,  trace 
their  genealogy  back,  in  an  unbroken  line,  for  the 
period  of  eight  hundred  years,  and  have  been,  at 
different  times,  connected,  by  marriage,  with  the 
kings  of  Scotland. 

Mr.  Campbell,  during  a  tour  recently  made  in 
Europe,  visited  Scotland.  He  was  there  at  the  re 
ception  of  the  queen,  which  brought  together  all 
the  Scottish  clans,  among  them  the  one  from  which 
he  descends,  and  received  a  cordial  welcome.  At 
a  dinner  given  by  the  Celtic  society,  composed  of 
all  the  various  tartans  of  the  Scottish  clans,  upon 
the  beautiful  lawn  near  the  castle  of  the  duke  of 
Argyle,  to  which  he  was  an  invited  guest,  the  fol 
lowing  interesting  incident  occurred,  illustrative 
of  the  Scottish  character: 

The  president  of  the  society,  in  allusion  to  him, 
stated  there  was  one  among  them  who  had  long 
been  a  wanderer  from  the  Highland  flock ;  indeed, 
one  who  now  sets  his  foot  upon  the  soil  for  the  first 
time — whose  ancestors,  nearly  a  century  and  a  half 
ago,  were  driven  out  of  Scotland  by  persecution,  for 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  109 

conscience  sake,  and  who  is  the  first  of  his  imme 
diate  race  who  has  returned  to  his  ancestral  land — 
and,  belonging  by  blood,  as  he  does,  to  a  very  old 
branch  of  the  powerful  clan  of  Argyle,  he  trusted 
the  society  would  adopt  the  motion  which  he  would 
make,  which  was,  that  this  gentleman  should  be 
elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  society.  The 
proposition  was  adopted  by  acclamation,  and  his 
health  drank  with  Highland  honors:  each  chief 
tain  standing,  with  his  left  foot  upon  his  chair,  and 
the  right  resting  on  the  edge  of  the  table,  carried 
his  glass  slowly  around  his  head,  with  his  right 
hand,  repeating  after  the  president,  in  Gaelic,  neish, 
neish,  sheel  orra  neish,  (now,  now,  here  is  to  him 
now,)  after  which  the  old  piper  of  the  marquis  of 
Breadalbane,  who  had  been  an  attentive  listener, 
struck  up  the  stirring  tune  of  the  clans,  sung  at  the 
gathering  in  1745,  "Oh,  you  are  long  in  coming, 
but  you  are  welcome,"  &c. 

The  Campbells  were  among  the  early  pioneers 
in  the  settlement  of  the  state  of  New  York.  James 
Campbell,  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  removed,  in  1741,  to  Cherry  Valley, 
from  Londonderry,  New  Hampshire,  where  he,  with 
several  others,  had,  several  years  anterior,  first  set 
tled,  on  arriving  from  the  north  of  Ireland.  The  spot 
where  Cherry  Valley  is  now  located,  was  then  an 
entire  wilderness.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
German  families,  scattered  along  the  borders  of  the 
Mohawk,  the  whole  country,  known  as  the  great 
west,  was  a  virgin  forest ;  indeed,  the  whole  coun 
try  west  of  Cherry  Valley,  reaching  on  to  the  Paci 
fic  ocean,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  scattered  set 
tlers,  who  had  intermarried  with  the  red  men,  and 
introduced  some  slight  features  of  civilization,  was 
an  almost  unbroken  wilderness. 

Col.  Samuel  Campbell,  well  known  as  one  of  the 
patriots  of  the  revolution,  was  a  son  of  James 
Campbell,  and  in  his  third  year  when  he  came 


110  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

with  his  father  to  reside  at  this  place.  During  the 
French  war,  he  was  an  active  and  efficient  citizen, 
and  was  of  essential  service  to  the  then  government, 
in  assisting  in  the  transportation  of  supplies  to  the 
western  ports.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war 
of  the  revolution,  he  espoused,  with  great  ardor, 
the  cause  of  the  colonies,  was  an  officer  in  the  army 
of  the  United  States,  and  rendered  his  country  im 
portant  aid.  A  garrison  was  erected  upon  his  farm, 
and  for  some  time  kept  there.  The  exposed  situa 
tion  of  the  frontier  settlements,  led  to  frequent  at 
tacks  by  the  combined  tory  and  Indian  forces,  who 
ravaged  the  borders,  and  committed,  whenever  op 
portunity  offered,  the  most  barbarous  atrocities;  in 
fact,  in  the  language  of  the  late  De  Witt  Clinton: 
"  Their  deeds  are  inscribed,  with  the  scalping  knife 
and  tomahawk,  in  characters  of  blood,  on  the  fields 
of  Wyoming  and  Cherry  Valley,  and  on  the  banks 
of  the  Mohawk."  In  many  of  these  skirmishes  and 
actions,  Col.  Campbell  bore  a  conspicuous  and  ho 
norable  part.  He  especially  distinguished  himself 
in  the  battle  of  Oriskany,  on  the  6th  of  August, 
1777,  under  Gen.  Herkimer;  and  when  the  brave 
Col.  Cox  fell,  in  that  sanguinary  contest,  he  took 
command  of  the  regiment,  and  brought  off  the  rem 
nant  of  it,  at  the  close  of  that  disastrous  engage 
ment.  At  the  massacre  in,  and  conflagration  of, 
Cherry  Valley,  in  November,  1778,  in  consequence 
of  being  an  active  partizan,  he  suffered  severely. 
His  property  was  destroyed,  and  his  wife  and  four 
children  were  taken  prisoners  by  the  Indians.  Mrs. 
Campbell  was  marched,  at  that  inclement  season 
of  the  year,  on  foot,  to  what  is  now  known  as  Tio- 
ga  point,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  thence  by  the  head 
of  Seneca  lake,  to  the  Indian  castle,  about  two 
miles  from  where  the  village  of  Geneva  now 
stands.  Here  she  spent  the  winter,  in  an  Indian 
village,  but  was  treated  with  comparative  kindness 
by  her  captors — but  still  suffered  severely  for  the 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  Ill 

want  of  clothing.  Towards  spring,  the  British  offi 
cers  in  garrispn.  at  Fort  Niagara,  learning  that  there 
was  a  lady  who  was  a  prisoner  at  the  castle,  near 
the  outlet  of  Seneca  lake,  sent  a  messenger  with 
female  clothing,  and  provision,  to  her  relief.  In 
the  spring  she  was  taken  to  Fort  Niagara,  and  ran 
somed  from  the  Indians,  and  from  thence  sent  to 
Montreal. 

Governor  Clinton  and  General  Schuyler  made 
special  efforts  for  her  liberation,  and  at  length  pre 
vailed  upon  the  British  authorities,  after  she  had 
been  in  captivity  two  years,  to  exchange  her  for  a 
Mrs.  Butler  and  her  children,  who  had  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  Americans.  She  returned  to 
Cherry  Valley  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  had  the 
pleasure  of  entertaining,  under  her  own  roof,  Gen. 
Washington,  Gov.  Clinton,  and  other  distinguished 
men.  She  is  said  to  have  possessed  great  fortitude, 
decision,  clearness  of  perception,  and  a  native  dig 
nity  that  never  failed  to  elicit  commendation  from 
those  brought  in  contact  with  her.  She  was  exem 
plary  as  a  wife,  a  mother,  and  a  Christian,  and  dis 
charged  her  duties  in  these  several  relations  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  imitation. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  Col.  Campbell  was 
elected  to  the  state  legislature.  He  died  in  Sep 
tember,  1824,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six 
years.  His  brother,  Robert  Campbell,  was  killed 
while  fighting  bravely  for  his  country,  in  the  battle 
of  Oriskany. 

William  Campbell,  the  eldest  son  of  Col.  Camp 
bell,  who  was  taken  captive  with  his  mother,  was 
a  highly  useful  and  distinguished  citizen  of  this 
state.  He  succeeded  the  late  Simeon  De  Witt, 
as  surveyor-general  of  the  state  of  New  York,  was 
several  times  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature, 
and  held  other  important  public  stations.  He  died 
at  his  residence,  in  Cherry  Valley,  a  few  years 
since,  aged  77  years. 


112  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  "biography  is 
James  S  ,  a  son  of  Col.  Campbell.  He  is  still  living 
on  the  homestead  of  his  father.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Col.  Elderkin,  of  Windham,  Connecti 
cut. 

William  W.  Campbell  was  early  placed  at  the 
academy  in  Cherry  Valley,  where  he  studied,  pre 
paratory  to  entering  upon  is  collegiate  course.  He 
entered  Union  college,  at  Schenectady,  in  his  nine 
teenth  year,  and  graduated  at  twenty-one.  Upon 
leaving  college,  he  removed  to  the  city  of  New 
York,  and  entered  the  law  office  of  Chancellor 
Kent,  to  qualify  himself  for  the  bar. 

In  1831  and  1832,  he  was  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Debate,  and  the  New  York  Young  Men's  Socie 
ty,  established  for  literary  objects,  and  of  the  last 
named  society  he  was  corresponding  secretary.     At 
this  time  he  began  to  give  indication  of  talents  of 
a    high    order,    and    which  have  since    given  to 
him  a  prominent  position,  as  a  writer  of  no  ordi 
nary  merit.     In   the    fall   of  1830,    a   society  was 
formed  in  the  village  of  Cherry  Valley,  for  literary 
purposes   generally,    but   especially   for    collecting 
facts  illustrative  of  the  natural  and  civil  history  of 
that  section  of  the  country.     Having  been  request 
ed  to  collect  and  embody  the  events  connected  with 
it,  he  conceived  a  design  of  writing  a  history  of  that 
town.     But,  upon  examination,  finding  its  revolu 
tionary  history  so  intimately  connected  with  the 
whole  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  he    abandoned   his 
limited  intention,   and  began  a  history  of  Tryon 
county — a  county  which  had  been  taken  from  that 
of  Albany,  in  1772,  and  named  after  William  Try- 
on,  then  Governor  of  the  province.     In   1784,  its 
name  was  changed  to  Montgomery.    When  formed, 
it  comprised  all  that  part  of  the  state  of  New  York 
lying  west  of  a  line  running  north  and  south  nearly 
through  the  centre  line  of  the  present  county  of 
Schoharie.     It  therefore  constituted  a  section  of  the 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  113 

state  which  had  been  the  scene  of  some  of  the  most 
thrilling  and  important  events  which  marked  the 
revolutionary  drama,  and  rich  in  the  historical  as 
sociations  of  that  eventful  period.  In  the  latter 
part  of  1831,  Mr.  Campbell  completed  this  work, 
and  the  same  year  it  was  published  by  the  Harpers' 
under  the  title  of  "  The  Annals  of  Tryon  county,  or 
the  Border  Warfare."  This  book,  indicating  great 
research,  and  containing  much  valuable  historical 
matter,  and  many  interesting  incidents,  woven  to 
gether  by  the  pen  of  the  historian,  in  a  style,  ear 
nest,  truthful  and  eloquent,  at  once  established  his 
reputation  as  a  scholar  and  a  writer  of  great  merit. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Campbell  had  to  contend 
with  the  eminent  talent  at  the  bar  of  New  York, 
where  he  commenced  his  career,  and  against  a 
competition  startling  to  the  young  tyro,  he  soon  ac 
quired  a  good  practice,  and  a  standing  as  a  lawyer 
of  high  legal  abilities,  and  of  sound  judgment;  and 
more  than  all,  in  importance  to  the  advocate,  a 
reputation  as  a  SAFE  ADVISER. 

^  In  August,  1333,  he  married  a  daughter  of  Col. 
Samuel  Starkweather,  a  lady  distinguished  for  her 
personal  attraction,  accomplished  mind,  and  a«ree- 
able  manners. 

In  February,  1839,  Mr.  Campbell  delivered  a  lec 
ture  before  the  Historical  society,  on  the  life  and 
military  services  of  Gen.  James  Clinton— a  subject 
with  which  his  previous  historical  investigations 
had  made  him  entirely  familiar.  On  the  4th  of 
July,  1840,  he  pronounced  the  address,  at  the  cen 
tennial  celebration  of  the  citizens  of  Cherry  Valley. 
This  address  contained  many  valuable  historical 
facts  connected  with  the  early  settlement  of  that 
town.  It  was  in  every  respect  an  able  production, 
and  greatly  added  to  the  reputation  which  he  al 
ready  enjoyed  as  a  literary  man  and  a  public  speak- 
er.  It  was  delivered  to  the  largest  audience  thai 
15 


114  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

probably  ever  assembled   at  that  place.     The  lec 
ture  and  address  have  both  been  published. 

Enjoying  the  personal  friendship  of  Gov.  Seward, 
who  had  graduated  about  the  same  time,  at  Union 
college,  the  latter,  while  at  the  head  of  the  state 
government,  conferred  upon  Mr.  Campbell  the  of 
fice  of  master  in  chancery,  for  the  city  of  New 
York;  and  subsequently,  upon  a  vacancy  occuring 
upon  the  bench  of  the  court  of  general  sessions  of 
that  city,  tendered  to  him  that  place,  which  honor, 
although  highly  appreciated,  was  declined,  from  a 
preference  he  entertained  for  the  appointment  he 
then  held.  In  1842,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
commissioners  in  bankruptcy,  for  the  southern  dis 
trict  of  New  York.  The  office  of  master  he  held 
until  the  democratic  party  came  into  power  again, 
in  1844,  and  that  of  commissioner  until  the  repeal 
of  the  bankrupt  law. 

In  1843,  the  native  American  party  was  organ 
ized  in  the  city  of  New  York;  and  in  1844,  Mr. 
Campbell,  although  a  decided  whig,  having  indi 
cated  a  concurrence  in  the  leading  measures  of  the 
new  party,  was  brought  forward  by  them  as  a  can 
didate  for  congress,  in  the  sixth  congressional  dis 
trict  of  the  state.  Ely  Moore  was  nominated  by 
the  democrats,  and  Hamilton  Fish  by  the  whigs. 
But,  Mr.  Campbell  being  well  known  as  an  ardent 
supporter  of  Henry  Clay,  the  whigs  did  not  press 
their  candidate.  Under  these  circumstances,  by 
the  united  vote  of  the  whigs  and  natives,  Mr.  Camp 
bell  was  elected  a  representative  in  the  29th  con 
gress.  Soon  after  taking  his  seat,  he  called  the  at 
tention  of  that  body  to  the  necessity  of  a  reform  in 
our  consular  system,  and  as  a  member  of  the  select 
committee  on  that  subject,  he  made  an  able  report. 
Upon  all  great  questions  affecting  the  interests  of 
the  city  of  New  York,  he  was  an  active  and  able 
coadjutor.  Upon  the  Oregon  question,  the  Mexican 
war,  and  other  subjects  then  in  agitation,  he  took  a 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  115 

prominent  part,  uniformly  voting  with  the  whig 
party,  in  their  leading  measures,  although  he  did 
not  lose  sight  of  the  interests  of  the  party  who  no 
minated  him. 

In  1846,  Mr.  Campbell  was  again  nominated  by 
his  party,  but  on  this  occasion  the  whigs,  although 
well  satisfied  with  his  course  in  congress,  resolved, 
at  all  hazards,  upon  breaking  down  the  native  Ame 
rican  organization.  Hence  Mr.  Campbell  was  op 
posed  by  both  whig  and  democratic  competitors, 
and  his  defeat  became  inevitable. 

In  July,  1845,  Mr.  Campbell,  as  the  appointed 
orator,  delivered  the  annual  address  before  the  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  society  of  Union  college.  It  was  high 
ly  eulogized  by  the  press. 

As  a  public  speaker,  Mr.  Campbell  never  fails  to 
interest.  His  language  is  chaste  and  eloquent,  and 
he  invariably  impresses  his  audience  with  a  con 
viction  of  his  sincerity.  Upon  the  numerous  able 
addresses  which  he  has  on  various  occasions  deli 
vered,  by  request,  before  literary  and  other  societies, 
our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to  dwell.  Still  in  the 
prime  of  life,  he  enjoys  the  esteem  of  all  who  know 
him,  and  none  can  speak  of  him,  but  as  a  firm  and 
true  friend. 


116  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


AMASA  J.  PARKER. 

One  day,  as  Sir  William  Jones  and  Thomas  Day 
were  removing  some  books,  in  the  chambers  of  the 
former,  a  large  spider  dropped  upon  the  floor,  upon 
which  Sir  William,  with  some  warmth,  said :  "  Kill 
that  spider,  Day — kill  that  spider!"  "No,"  said 
Mr.  Day,  with  that  coolness  for  which  he  was  so 
conspicuous,  "I  will  not  kill  that  spider,  Jones;  I 
do  not  know  that  I  have  a  right  to  kill  that  spider ! 
Suppose  when  you  are  going  in  a  coach  to  West 
minster  hall,  a  superior  being,  who,  perhaps,  may 
have  as  much  power  over  you,  as  you  have  over 
this  insect,  should  say  to  his  companion :  '  kill  that 
lawyer;  kill  that  lawyer!'  How  should  you  like 
that,  Jones?  And  I  am  sure,  to  most  people,  a  law 
yer  is  more  repulsive  than  a  spider." 

How  justly  soever  Mr.  Day's  remark  may  apply 
to  lawyers  in  general,  Judge  Parker  is  a  remarkable 
exception;  for  his  manners,  both  on  the  bench  and 
in  the  social  circle,  are  ever  such  as  to  remind  us 
of  the  passage  of  holy  writ,  where  it  is  said,  "jus 
tice  and  mercy  met  and  kissed  each  other." 

This  gentleman,  who  holds  so  conspicuous  a 
place  among  the  distinguished  men  of  the  empire 
state,  was  born  at  Sharon  in  the  parish  of  Ells 
worth,  Litchfield  county,  Connecticut,  on  the  second 
of  June,  1807.  It  has  been  remarked,  that  there  is 
no  neighborhood  in  the  United  States,  of  the  same 
limits  and  population,  which  has  been  the  birth 
place,  or  the  home,  of  so  many  eminent  men,  as 
the  county  of  Litchfield.  It  is  a  region  of  hard 
hills  and  rocky  farms,  contiguous  to  no  commercial 
cities,  and  crossed  by  no  important  lines  of  travel- 
but  its  homesteads,  so  quiet  arid  retired,  have  been 
favorite  haunts  of  the  genii.  Here  the  bracing  ah 


A.    J.    PARKER 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  117 

of  the  highlands,  and  the  habits  of  industry  and 
self-dependence,  formed  from  childhood,  have  given 
strong  lungs  and  vigorous  frames,  expanded  souls, 
and  spirits  full  of  energy,  to  a  hundred  men,  where 
the  influences  of  city  life  will  scarcely  endow  with 
the  same  gifts  a  single  one. 

^  The  father  of  Judge  Parker,  was  the  Rev.  Daniel 
Parker,  who  was  the  pastor  of  the  congregational 
church  of  Ellsworth  parish.  His 'ancestors  were  of 
the  good  old  puritan  stock  of  New  England,  and 
had  resided  in  the  western  part  of  Connecticut  for 
several  generations.  His  paternal  and  maternal 
grandfathers,  Amasa  Parker  and  Thomas  Fenn, 
both  served  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and  were  re 
spected  for  their  integrity  and  moral  virtues.  The 
latter  was  for  twenty  years  a  representative  in  the 
state  legislature,  and  a  magistrate.  They  lived  and 
died  at  Watertown,  in  that  state. 

The  Rev.  Daniel  Parker  was  a  graduate  of  Yale 
college.  He  married  Miss  Anna  Fenn,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Fenn,  Esq.,  and  was  for  almost  twenty 
years  a  settled  minister  at  Ellsworth.  During  that 
period  he  established,  and  had  charge  of,  an  acade 
my  at  that  place,  which  acquired  a  high  reputation, 
and  in  which  many  young  men,  since  distinguished 
in  many  parts  of  the  Union,  were  educated. 

In  1816,  the  reverend  gentleman  removed  to 
Greenville,  Greene  county,  New  York,  and  took 
charge  of  the  academy  at  that  place.  It  was  at 
that  place,  that  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  then 
only  nine  years  of  age,  commenced  the  study  of  the 
Latin  language.  After  remaining  there  two  years, 
he  spent  a  like  period  at  the  Hudson  academy,  and 
subsequently  three  years  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

Judge  Parker  was  the  eldest  son,  and,  ever  eager 
to  learn,  pains  were  taken  with  his  education;  his 
father  devoting  the  most  constant  attention  to  it, 
and  securing  him  the  instruction  of  the  most  care 
ful  instructors  and  professors  in  the  country. 


118  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

As  all  those  acquainted  with  him  may  readily 
infer,  no  man  was  ever  more  completely  and  critic 
ally  instructed,  in  a  course  of  classical  education, 
than  himself.  To  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
dead  languages,  was  added  an  acquaintance  with 
modem  tongues,  and  belles-lettres,  as  well  as  the 
more  severe  studies  of  mathematics. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  had  completed  the  usual 
course  of  collegiate  study,  although  not  within  the 
walls  of  a  college,  being  precocious  in  intellect,  as 
well  as  in  stature. 

In  May,  1823,  as  its  principal,  he  took  charge  of 
the  Hudson  academy,  an  incorporated  institution, 
subject  to  the  visitation  of  the  regents.     During  the 
four  years  which  he  remained  at  its  head,  the  aca 
demy  enjoyed  a  high  reputation,  and  was  in  a  most 
flourishing  condition.     His  age  was  not  then  ma 
ture,  and  his  pupils,  scattered  over  the  state,  were 
afterwards  surprised  to  learn,  that  their  preceptor 
was  younger  than  many  of  themselves.     During 
this  time,  the  argument  was  used  by  the  academy 
at  Kinderhook,  a  rival  institution,  that  the  principal 
of  the  Hudson  academy  was  not  a  graduate  of  a 
college.     To  obviate  any  such  objection,  Mr.  Parker 
availed   himself  of  the  opportunity  afforded  by  a 
short  vacation,  to  present  himself  at  Union  college, 
in   order   to    take    an  examination   for  the   entire 
course,   and  to  graduate  with  the  class.     This  he 
did,  and  took  his  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts,  in  July, 
1825. 

During  the  latter  part  of  his  term  at  the  Hudson 
academy,  he  was  entered  as  a  student  at  law,  in 
the  office  of  that  sound  jurist,  John  W.  Edmonds, 
then  residing  at  Hudson,  and  since  circuit  judge  of 
the  first  circuit,  and  justice  of  the  supreme  court. 

At  the  age  of  twenty,  in  the  spring  of  1827,  hav 
ing  resigned  his  charge,  Mr.  Parker  retired  to  Delhi, 
Delaware  county,  for  the  purpose  of  pursuing  his 
legal  studies,  in  the  office  of  his  uncle,  Col.  Amasa 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  119 

Parker,  a  practising  lawyer  of  eminence  at  that 
place.  He  continued  there  until  his  admission  to 
the  bar,  at  the  October  term,  in  1828.  He  then 
formed  a  law  partnership  with  his  uncle,  which 
lasted  over  fifteen  years,  during  which  period  they 
were  engaged  in  a  most  extensive  practice. 

Immediately  on  his  admission,  he  entered  the 
higher  courts,  as  an  advocate;  and,  taking  upon 
himself  that -branch  of  the  business,  he  was  for 
many  years  much  abroad,  at  the  neighboring  cir 
cuits,  and  at  the  terms  of  the  common  law  and 
equity  courts.' 

Delaware  county  having  for  forty  years  been 
strongly  democratic  in  its  politics,  Mr.  Parker  was 
early  in  life  engaged  in  the  great  political  struggles 
of  the  day.  In  the  fall  of  1833,  at  the  age  of  twen 
ty-six,  he  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature,  where 
he  served  on  the  committee  of  ways  and  means, 
and  in  other  important  positions,  during  the  winter 
of  1834.  In  1835,  he  was  elected  by  the  legisla 
ture  a  regent  of  the  New  York  state  university- — a 
rare  honor  for  so  young  a  man — this  distinction 
never  having  been  before  conferred  upon  one  of  his 
age. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  he  was  elected  a  mem 
ber  of  the  twenty -fifth  congress,  to  represent  the 
congressional  district  composed  of  the  counties 
of  Delaware  and  Broome.  It  is  here  worthy  of  re 
mark,  that  at  both  elections  he  ran  without  opposi 
tion,  the  opposite  party  deeming  it  useless  to  bring 
a  whig  candidate  into  the  field  against  him. 

While  in  congress,  he  served  upon  several  im 
portant  committees,  and  his  speeches,  most  of 
which  the  writer  heard,  were  upon  the  public  lands, 
the  Mississippi  election  question,  the  Cilley  duel, 
and  other  great  subjects  of  the  day,  all  of  which 
may  be  found  in  the  Congressional  Globe.  His 
speech  on  the  knotty  points  involved  in  the  Missis 
sippi  election  case,  was  pronounced,  by  men  of  both 


120  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

parties,  to  be  one  of  the  best  logical  speeches  they 
had  heard  for  many  years.  He  untwisted  the 
sophisms  which  had  been  mixed  up  with  the  ques 
tion  at  issue,  and  presented  it  in  so  clear  a  light, 
that  conscientious  members,  who  had  in  vain  been 
trying  to  comprehend  the  point  in  dispute,  could 
now  vote  understandingly  upon  it. 

In  the  fall  of  1839,  he  was  a  candidate  for  the 
office  of  state  senator,  in  the  third  senatorial  dis 
trict.  The  canvass  was  a  very  excited  one,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  a  United  States  senator  was  to  be 
elected  by  the  next  legislature,  in  the  place  of  Mr. 
Tallin adge.  Very  great  exertions  were  made,  and 
about  fifty  thousand  votes  were  polled.  The  result 
was,  the  election  of  the  whig  candidate,  the  late 
Gen.  Root,  by  a  very  small  majority. 

This  defeat  of  Mr.  Parker  was,  without  doubt,  a 
fortunate  event  for  his  professional  reputation,  as  it 
enabled  him  to  prosecute  the  practice  of  his  profes 
sion  with  renewed  energy  and  success,  until  he 
was  appointed  to  the  bench,  on  the  6th  of  March, 
1844. 

On  accepting,  with  hesitation,  the  appointment 
of  circuit  judge,  he  repaired  immediately  to  the  city 
of  Albany,  where  he  continued  to  reside  during  his 
term  of  office.  The  duties  of  the  office  were  very 
laborious,  and  required  the  most  constant  applica 
tion.  As  circuit  judge  in  the  common  law  courts, 
and  as  vice  chancellor  in  the  court  of  equity,  the 
whole  of  his  time  was  occupied,  and  heavy  respon 
sibilities  devolved  upon  him. 

In  addition  to  the  ordinary  business  of  his  dis 
trict,  the  anti-rent  difficulties  added  much  to  his 
labors.  He  commenced  his  civil  calenders  with 
questions  of  title,  and  at  the  oyer  and  terminer,  the 
most  painful  duties  were  imposed  upon  him,  in 
punishing  violations  of  the  public  peace.  His  la 
bors  at  the  Delaware  circuit,  in  1845,  will  not  soon 
be  forgotten.  He  found  in  jail  about  a  hundred 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  121 

and  ten  persons,  under  indictment.  At  the  end  of 
three  weeks,  the  jail  was  cleared,  every  case  having 
been  disposed  of,  by  conviction  or  otherwise.  Two 
were  sentenced  to  death,  for  the  murder  of  Sheriff 
Steele,  and  about  fifteen  to  confinement,  for  various 
periods,  in  the  state  prison :  for  the  lighter  offences, 
fines  were  in  several  cases  imposed.  The  course 
pursued  by  Judge  Parker,  met  with  general  appro 
bation.  After  the  adjournment  of  the  court,  the 
military  force  was  discharged,  peace  was  restored, 
and  in  no  instance  has  resistance  to  process  since 
occurred  in  that  county. 

No  criminal  trials  in  the  state  were  ever  sur 
rounded  with  such  difficulties,  or  more  imperiously 
required  the  exercise  of  firmness,  caution,  energy, 
and  promptness.  The  following  summer  the  de 
gree  of  LL.  D.  was  conferred  upon  Judge  Parker 
by  Geneva  college. 

On  the  27th  of  August,  1834,  Judge  Parker  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Harriet  L.  Roberts,  of 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  by  whom  he  has  had 
six  children.  The  writer  has  heard  her  kindness 
to  the  suffering  poor,  spoken  of  with  heart-felt  grati 
tude. 

The  judge  received  from  his  father  110  patrimony, 
except  his  classical  education.  The  means  of  ac 
quiring  his  professional  education,  he  obtained  by 
his  own  industry,  as  a  teacher.  He  has  always  ap 
plied  himself  with  great  industry  to  his  profession, 
and  has  ever  relied  on  his  own  energy  for  success. 
By  these  exertions  he  has  been  able  to  surmount 
every  obstacle,  and  to  attain  his  present  elevated 
position.  His  term  of  office  as  circuit  judge,  ter 
minated  with  the  constitution,  and  at  the  first  pe 
riodical  election  held  under  the  new  constitution, 
the  little  boy  who  commenced  learning  Latin  at 
nine  years  of  age,  was  elected  "justice  of  the  su 
preme  court  of  the  state  of  New  York." 

His  election  is  considered  as  a  most  triumphant 
16 


122  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

vindication  of  the  policy  of  committing  the  choice 
of  judicial  officers  to  the  people.  He  was  elected 
in  the  third  judicial  district,  although  in  the  seven 
counties  which  compose  it,  an  adverse  influence 
had  been  at  work.  It  was  thought  that  great  pre 
judice  existed  against  him,  on  account  of  the  du 
ties  his  office  compelled  him  to  perform  at  the  Dela 
ware  trials — yet  his  majority  over  the  opposing  can 
didate  was  nearly  six  thousand,  embracing  many 
of  all  parties,  who  came  forward  to  cast  their  influ 
ence  in  favor  of  a  candidate  who  had  kindly,  but 
firmly,  enforced  the  execution  of  the  law. 

We  will  conclude  this  sketch  in  the  words  of  a 
distinguished  senator,  who,  in  a  recent  speech,  al 
luding  to  Judge  Parker,  said:  "every  one  will  ad 
mit  that  he  is  one  of  the  ablest  judges  this  state  has 
produced." 


THEODORIC  ROMEYN  BECK, 

Was  born  at  Schenectady,  New  York,  on  the 
llth  of  August,  1791.  His  parents  were  highly  re 
spectable.  According  to  the  National  Picture  Gal 
lery,  his  grandfather  was  the  Rev.  Theodoric  Ro- 
meyn,  D.  I).,  one  of  the  professors  of  theology  in 
the  reformed  Dutch  church,  and  one  of  its  most  dis 
tinguished  ornaments.  The  rudiments  of  Dr.  Beck's 
education  were  received  at  the  grammar  school  in 
his  native  place,  arid  in  1803  he  entered  Union  col 
lege,  an  institution  which  had  been  established  a 
few  years  previously,  principally  through  the  active 
exertions  of  his  grandfather.  He  graduated  in  1807, 
and  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  under  the 
late  Drs.  McClelland  &  Low,  of  Albany.  His  me 
dical  education  was  afterwards  completed  under 
the  care  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Hosack,  of  New  York, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  123 

in  which  place  he  attended  the  lectures  of  the  Col 
lege  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  in  1811,  ob 
tained  from  that  institution  the  degree  of  doctor  of 
medicine.  On  that  occasion,  he  wrote  and  published 
an  inaugural  dissertation  on  insanity.  He  im 
mediately  afterwards  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  the  city  of  Albany.  In  1815,  he 
was  appointed  professor  of  the  institutes  of  medi 
cine,  and  lecturer  on  medical  jurisprudence,  in  the 
College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  of  the  western 
district  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  is  now  pro 
fessor  of  rnateria  medica  in  the  Albany  Medical 
college. 

In  1817,  owing  to  a  growing  fondness  for  literary 
pursuits,  he  abandoned  the  practical  exercise  of  his 
profession,  and  accepted  the  situation  of  principal 
of  the  Albany  academy.  Under  his  superintend 
ence,  this  academy  attained  a  high  and  deserved 
rank  among  the  literary  institutions  of  our  country. 

It  is  as  an  author,  however,  that  Prof.  Beck  is 
mainly  distinguished.  In  1813,  he  delivered  the 
annual  address  before  the  Society  of  Arts?  of  Albany, 
on  the  mineralogical  resources  of  the  state.  This, 
the  earliest  systematic  account  of  the  mineral 
wealth  of  our  country,  received  high  commenda 
tion.  In  1823,  he  published,  in  two  octavo  volumes, 
Elements  of  Medical  Jurisprudence,  which  at  the 
time  attracted  great  attention,  and  has  since  con 
tinued  a  standard  work  on  the  subject  of  which  it 
treats.  In  foreign  countries,  the  merit  of  this  work 
has  been  duly  appreciated,  and  magnanimously  ac 
knowledged  ;  and  in  the  various  medical  colleges  of 
Great  Britain  it  has,  for  years,  been  recommended 
to  students,  by  professors.  In  1828,  it  was  trans 
lated  into  German,  by  Weimar,  and  has  been  favor 
ably  received  in  the  various  parts  of  the  continent 
of  Europe. 

Prof.  Beck  is  one  of  the  founders  and  active  sup 
porters  of  the  Albany  institute,  a  scientific  and  lite- 


124  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

rary  association.  Of  his  personal  qualities,  it  is 
sufficient  to  say,  that  he  is  universally  respected 
and  esteemed.  Unpretending  in  his  manners,  and 
studious  in  his  habits,  the  voice  of  praise  has  not 
rendered  him  arrogant  and  indolent,  and  the  sci 
ence  of  his  country  has  yet  much  to  hope  from  his 
labors  and  learning. 


FREDERICK  A.  TALLMADGE. 

It  has  been  truly  observed,  that  there  can  hard 
ly  be  a  more  sublime  spectacle  for  our  admira 
tion,  than  that  of  a  young  man,  who,  urged  on  by 
the  impulse  of  struggling  intellect,  starts  boldly 
from  the  ranks  of  obscurity,  determined  to  battle 
his  way  through  every  obstacle  to  honor  and  re 
nown. 

Of  such  is  the  talented  subject  of  this  sketch, 
who  by  his  own  well  directed  energy,  became  an 
eminent  lawyer  of  the  city  of  New  York,  where,  in 
addition  to  other  offices,  he  was  appointed  recorder 
of  the  court  of  general  sessions.  He  is  now  a  re 
presentative  of  the  state  of  New  York  in  the  thir 
tieth  congress,  in  which  body,  with  his  rare  business 
talents,  he  can  not  fail  to  render  important  service 
to  his  country.  Unlike  many  others,  he  does  not 
weaken  his  arguments  by  a  multitude  of  words,  but 
invariably  comes  to  the  point  at  once.  With  such 
men  in  the  national  legislature,  the  business  of  the 
country  would  never  surfer  from  delay.  Quick, 
ready  and  ardent  in  the  pursuit  of  any  thing  on 
which  his  mind  is  set,  Mr.  Tallrnadge  has  made 
rapid  and  solid  advancement  in  almost  every  branch 
of  useful  knowledge. 


<s 


FREDERICK    A.    TALLMADGE 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  125 


JOHN  W.  FRANCIS. 

This  celebrated  gentleman,  says  Poe,  in  his  capa 
city  of  physician  and  medical  lecturer,  is  far  too 
well  known  to  need  comment.  He  was  the  pupil, 
friend,  and  partner  of  Hosack — the  pupil  of  Aber- 
nethy — connected  in  some  measure  with  every 
thing  that  has  been  well  said  and  done,  medically, 
in  America.  As  a  medical  essayist,  he  has  always 
commanded  the  highest  respect  and  veneration. 
Among  the  points  he  has  made,  at  various  times, 
may  be  mentioned  his  Anatomy  of  Drunkenness; 
his  Views  of  the  Asiatic  Cholera;  his  Analysis  of 
the  Avon  Waters  of  the  state ;  his  establishment  of 
the  comparative  immunity  of  the  constitution  from 
a  second  attack  of  yellow  fever;  and  his  patholo 
gical  propositions  on  the  changes  wrought  in  the 
system  by  specific  poisons  through  their  assimila 
tion — propositions  remarkably  sustained  and  en 
forced  by  recent  discoveries  of  Liebig. 

In  unprofessional  letters,  Dr.  Francis  has  also  ac 
complished  much,  although  necessarily  in  a  discur 
sive  manner.  His  Biography  of  Chancellor  Living 
ston,  his  Horticultural  Discourse,  his  Discourse  at 
the  opening  of  the  new  hall  of  the  New  York  Ly 
ceum  of  Natural  History,  are  (each  in  its  way)  mo 
dels  of  fine  writing,  just  sufficiently  toned  down  by 
an  indomitable  common  sense. 

Dr.  Francis  is  one  of  the  old  spirits  of  the  New 
York  Historical  society.  His  philanthropy,  his  ac 
tive,  untiring  beneficence,  will  forever  render  his 
name  a  household  word  among  the  truly  Christian 
of  heart.  His  professional  services  and  his  purse 
are  always  at  the  command  of  the  needy;  few  of 
our  wealthiest  men  have  ever  contributed  to  the 


126  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

relief  of  distress  so  bountifully — none  certainly  with 
greater  readiness  or  warmer  sympathy. 

His  person  and  manner  are  richly  peculiar.  He 
is  short  and  stout,  probably  five  feet  five  in  height, 
limbs  of  great  muscularity  and  strength,  the  whole 
frame  indicating  prodigious  vitality  and  energy — 
the  latter  is,  in  fact,  the  leading  trait  in  his  charac 
ter.  His  head  is  large,  massive — the  features  in 
keeping;  complexion  dark  florid;  eyes  piercingly 
bright;  mouth  exceedingly  mobile  and  expressive ; 
hair  gray,  and  worn  in  matted  locks  about  the  neck 
and  shoulders — eyebrows  to  correspond,  jagged  and 
ponderous.  His  age  is  about  fifty-eight.  His  gene 
ral  appearance  is  such  as  to  arrest  attention.  He 
is  married. 


BISHOP  HUGHES. 

The  Right  Reverend  John  Hughes,  one  of  the 
catholic  Bishops,  of  New  York,  or,  as  his  title  says, 
bishop  of  Bascepolis,  is  a  proper  sample  of  repub 
licanism  in  religion — of  the  moral  worth  of  man 
over  the  fortuitous  circumstances  of  birth.  Bom 
in  an  humble  rank  of  life,  by  his  own  talents  he 
has  raised  himself  to  the  high  position  he  now  oc 
cupies  in  the  catholic  church. 

Bishop  Hughes  is  a  native  of  the  south  of  Ire 
land,  and  of  humble  origin.  He  came  to  this  coun 
try  in  early  life.  He  was  educated  at  the  catholic 
college  of  Emmetsburg,  in  Maryland,  where,  it  is 
said,  he  was  for  some  time  employed  as  a  gardener 
in  the  grounds  of  the  college.  If  so,  it  redounds  to 
his  honor,  as  it  shows  that  perseverance  and  talent 
will  surmount  the  greatest  obstacles.  He  complet 
ed  his  collegiate  studies  with  the  highest  honors. 


\ 


JOHN    HUGHFS 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


127 


Being  ordained  priest,  he  was  stationed  at  Philadel 
phia.  Eleven  years  afterward,  he  was  sent  to  be 
coadjutor  to  Bishop  Dubois,  of  New  York,  whose 
successor  he  is.  It  is  generally  admitted,  that 
Bishop  Hughes  is  the  most  talented  prelate,  of  iiis 
persuasion,  on  the  American  continent.  He  is 
about  forty-five  years  of  age. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  James  Harper,  the  late 
mayor  of  New  York,  in  1844,  Bishop  Hughes  says: 

:t  It  is  twenty-seven  years  since  I  came  to  this 
country.  I  became  a  citizen,  as  soon  as  my  major 
ity  of  age,  and  other  circumstances  permitted.  My 
early  ancestors  were  from  Wales;  and  very  proba 
bly  shared,  with  Strongbow  and  his  companions,  in 
the  plunder  which  rewarded  the  first  successful  in 
vaders  of  lovely  but  unfortunate  Ireland.  Of  course, 
from  the  time  of  their  conversion  from  paganism, 
they  were  catholics.  You,  sir,  who  must  be  ac 
quainted  with  the  melancholy  annals  of  religious 
intolerance  in  Ireland,  may  remember,  that  when  a 
traitor  to  his  country,  and,  for  what  I  know,  to  his 
creed  also,  wished  to  make  his  peace  to  the  Irish 
government  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  MacMahon,  prince 
of  Monaghan,  the  traitor's  work,  which  he  volun 
teered  to  accomplish,  was  "to  root  out  the  whole  sept 
of  the  Hugheses."  He  did  not,  however,  succeed  in 
destroying  them,  although  he  "  rooted  them  out" — 
proving,  as  a  moral  for  future  times,  that  persecu 
tion  cannot  always  accomplish  what  it  proposes. 
In  the  year  1817,  a  descendant  of  the  sept  of  the 
Hugheses  came  to  the  United  States  of  America. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  farmer  of  moderate  but  com 
fortable  means.  He  landed  on  these  shores  friend 
less,  and  with  but  a  few  guineas  in  his  purse.  He 
never  received  of  the  charity  of  any  man  without 
repaying;  he  never  had  more  than  a  few  dollars  at 
a  time;  he  never  had  a  patron — in  the  church  or 
out  of  it;  and  it  is  he  who  has  the  honor  to  address 
you  now,  as  catholic  bishop  of  New  York." 


128  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


NATHAN  CLIFFORD, 

The  present  attorney-general  of  the  United  States, 
is  another  of  those  who  have  achieved  an  honora 
ble  distinction,   by  the   unassisted    power  of  their 
own  efforts.     He  belongs  to   a  respectable  family, 
which  emigrated  from   England  at  an  early  period, 
and  settled  in  the  southern  part  of  New  Hampshire. 
"  His  grandfather,  Nathan  Clifford,  removed  subse 
quently,   to  the   town  of  Rumney,  in   that   state, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  resided  until  his 
death,  in  the  year  1819.     His  son,  Nathan  Clifford, 
was  born  on  the  18th  of  August,  1803.     He  received 
the  rudiments  of  his  education  at  a  public  school, 
which  he  attended  only  a  few  months  of  the  year, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  his  paternal  home.     At  the 
age  of  fourteen,  he  became  a  pupil  of  the  Haverhill 
academy,  which  he  left  in  1820,  to  profit  by  the  su 
perior  advantages  of  the  literary  institution  at  New 
Hampton.     At  the  latter  place,  he  was  enabled  to 
prosecute  his  studies  but  little  more  than  a  year, 
at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  entered,  as  a 
law  student,  the  office  of  the  distinguished  Josiah 
Quincy.     During  this  period,  of  four  years,  from  the 
age  of  fourteen  to  that  of  eighteen,  he  had  literally 
worked  his  way,  teaching  school  at  intervals,  and  re 
ceiving  little  or  no  aid  from  his  family,  through  a 
career  of  honorable  culture  and  attainment,  which 
fitted  him,  in  no  unworthy  manner,  for  the  success 
ful  study  of  his  chosen  profession.     In  June,  1837, 
the  supreme  court  admitted  him  to  practice.     He 
then  removed  to  Newfield,  in  Maine,  where  he  has 
ever  since  resided.     From   1830,   to  1833,  he  was 
successively  elected  to  the  state  legislature,  a  por 
tion  of  which  time  he  was  speaker  of  the  house.    In 
1834,  he  was  appointed  attorney-general  of  Maine 


VALENTINE    MOTT 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  129 

He  first  took  his  seat  in  congress :  m  1839,  and 
his  second  term  embraced  the  three  first  ses 
sions  of  the  Tyler  administration.  In  1843,  he  re 
tired  from  congress  with  a  high  reputation.  He  is 
now  attorney-general  of  the  United  States. 


VALENTINE  MOTT. 

With  the  exception  of  Alden  March,  of  Albany, 
Prof.  Mott  has,  it  is  believed,  no  equal  as  a  surgeon, 
in  the  United  States.  He  was  born  at  Glen  Cove, 
Long  Island,  on  the  20th  of  August,  1785.  His 
American  ancestor  was  Adam  Mott,  who  came 
from  England  and  settled  in  Long  Island,  about  the 
middle  of  the  1 7th  century.  Henry  Mott,  the  father 
of  Valentine,  died  at  a  very  advanced  age,  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  a  few  years  since. 

In  1807,  Valentine  went  to  London,  where  he 
became  the  pupil  of  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  and  attended 
the  lectures  of  many  other  famous  teachers  of  that 
day.  Shortly  after  his  return  to  New  York,  he  was 
appointed  professor  of  surgery  in  Columbia  college, 
and  subsequently  to  the  same  position  in  the  Col 
lege  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons. 

In  1818,  he  performed  the  operation  of  tying  the 
anterior  innominata,  within  two  inches  of  the  heart. 
This  was  an  original  operation.  It  is  said  of  him, 
that  he  has  performed  as  many  great  operations  as 
any  man  that  ever  lived. 

In  1840,  owing  to  the  delicacy  of  his  health,  he 
returned  to  Europe,  traveling  in  England,  France, 
and  Egypt.  On  his  return  he  published  a  book, 
containing  notes  of  his  travels.  He  is  now  profes 
sor  of  surgery  in  the  New  York  university. 
17 


130  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


CHARLES  HATHAWAY. 

It  was  the  holy  twilight  hour,  and  clouds  in  crimson  pride 
Sailed  through  the  golden  firmament,  in  the  calm  evening  tide; 
The  peasant's  cheerful  song  was  hushed,  by  every  hill  and  glen ; 
The  city's  voice  stole  faintly  out,  and  died  the  hum  of  men: 
And  as  Night's  sombre  shades  came  down,  o'er  Day's  resplendent 

eye, 

A  faded 'face  from  a  prison-ship  gazed  out  upon  the  sky; 
For  to  that  face  the  glad  bright  sun  of  earth  for  aye  had  set, 
And  the  last  time  had  come,  to  mark  Eve's  starry  coronet. 

Daniel  Hathaway,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  notice,  was  of  English  descent,  and 
was  a  native  of  Dartmouth,  Massachusetts.  His 
American  ancestors  were  among  the  earliest  set 
tlers  in  the  colonies.  In  1776,  Daniel  entered  the 
army  of  the  revolution,  as  a  surgeon. 

He  was  afterwards  taken  prisoner  by  the  Dutch, 
and  confined  in  one  of  their  loathsome  prison-ships. 
After  much  suffering,  he  was,  upon  an  exchange  of 
prisoners,  relieved,  and  with  feelings  which  can 
easily  be  imagined,  hastened  homewards,  to  rejoin 
his  sorrowing  family : 

I  come,  I  come,  like  the  weary  bird, 

At  eve  to  its  sheltered  nest ; 
Like  the  pilgrim  from  afar,  I  come 

To  a  blessed  shrine  of  rest. 

Many  a  long  day  had  he  been  expected,  and 
many  a  sad  sigh  had  been  heaved  at  his  continued 
absence.  For 

It  is  not  home  without  thee — the  lone  seat 

Is  still  unclaimed  where  thou  wert  wont  to  be ; 

In  every  echo  of  returning  feet, 

In  vain  we  list  for  what  should  herald  thee : 

Father,  come  home! 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  131 

But  alas !  the  light  of  life  grew  dim  in  that  house 
hold,  and  the  scalding  tear  fell,  when  the  news 
came  that  their  father  had  died  on  his  way  home, 
having,  as  there  was  strong  reason  to  believe,  been 
poisoned  by  the  enemy  at  the  last  meal  previous  to  his 
liberation  ! 

Charles  Hathaway,  the  oldest  son  of  Isaac  and 
Susannah  Hathaway,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Hud 
son,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1795.  The  only  advan 
tages  he  enjoyed,  were  those  of  an  academical  edu 
cation;  but  he  has  nevertheless  cultivated  liberal 
studies,  in  which  he  has  attained  a  considerable 
proficiency,  and  is,  withal,  a  clear  and  vigorous 
writer.  How  many  men  thus  situated,  without  the 
advantages  of  a  college,  have  by  a  course  of  pa 
tient  application,  risen  to  the  highest  eminence  and 
standing,  and  far  above  where  the  momentary  sal 
lies  of  uncultivated  genius  ever  reach,  have  plucked 
from  the  lofty  cliff  the  deathless  laurel.  In  his  ear 
ly  days  he  is  represented  to  have  been  of  a  medita 
tive  turn,  and  fond  of  rambling  through  the  mea 
dows,  into  the  most  secluded  and  beautiful  scenes, 
to  "  refresh  his  spirit  with  the  sunshine,  the  green 
trees  and  bubbling  waters." 

Mr.  Hathaway  has  resided  in  Delaware  county, 
ever  since  he  was  twelve  years  of  age,  where  he 
has  had  a  respectable  practice  in  his  professional 
business  as  a  lawyer.  His  principal  employment, 
for  many  years,  has  been  that  of  an  agent  for  the 
proprietors  of  large  tracts  of  land,  in  Delaware  and 
some  of  the  neighboring  counties.  In  1»40,  he 
was  appointed  first  judge  and  surrogate  of  Delaware 
county,  which  office  he  held,  with  great  credit,  for 
several  years.  He  has  at  different  times  held  othei 
civil  appointments.  In  1844,  the  honorary  degree 
of  A.  M.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  trustees  of 
William's  college. 

On  the  16th  of  May,  1828,  Judge  Hathaway  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Maria  Augusta 


132  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

Bowne,  a  sister  of  Norwood  Bowne,  Esq.,  the  talent 
ed  editor  of  the  Delaware  Express. 

The  personal  appearance  of  the  judge  is  gentle 
manly  and  prepossessing,  although,  as  a  natural 
result  of  studious  habits,  his  manner  is  rather  re 
served. 


ERASTUS  BROOKS, 

Is  a  younger  brother  of  James  Brooks,  of  the  New 
York  Express.  He  was  born  at  Portland,  Maine, 
January,  1815.  His  father  was  captain  of  a  private 
armed  vessel,  and,  during  the  last  war  with  Eng 
land,  succeeded  in  capturing  several  prizes.  He 
finally  perished,  however,  with  his  vessel,  at  sea. 
Erastus  was  born  during  his  absence,  and  never 
saw  him. 

Sleep  on,  sleep  on  ;  the  glittering  depths 

Of  ocean's  coral  caves 
Are  thy  bright  urn — thy  requiem 

The  music  of  its  waves. 
The  purple  gems  forever  burn, 

In  fadeless  beauty  round  thy  urn ; 
As  pure  and  deep  as  infant  Jove, 

The  blue  sea  rolls  its  waves  above. 

As  might  be  supposed,  from  his  great  capacity 
for  labor,  the  subject  of  our  sketch  commenced 
earning  his  living  at  a  very  early  age.  When  little 
more  than  eight,  when  other  children  had  but  com 
menced  going  to  school,  he  stood  behind  the  coun 
ter  of  a  grocery  store  in  Boston.  At  twelve,  he  be 
came  a  printer,  and  acted  in  the  capacity  of  drudge 
in  the  office  of  the  Portland  Advertiser,  the  paper 
of  which  he  afterward  became  editor !  He  remain- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  133 

ed  at  the  printing  business  until  eighteen,  when, 
assisted  by  his  brother,  he  edited  and  published  a 
paper  at  Wiscasset,  Maine,  called  The  Yankee.    At 
this  period  he  felt  the  necessity  of  a  more  liberal 
education,  and  accordingly  commenced  preparing 
himself  for  college.     He  commenced  with  Sallust, 
and  simultaneously  with  his  studies,    he   set   his 
types,  worked  at  the  press,  edited  his  paper,  collect 
ed  bills,  etc.,  etc.     By  this  means,  he  saved  enough 
in  one  year  to  warrant  his  entrance  into  Waterville 
college,   Maine.     Here,  and  at  New  Hampton,  in 
the  woods  of  New  Hampshire,  he  studied  until  his 
funds  became  exhausted.     He  then  went  to  Haver- 
hill,  Massachusetts,  where  he  worked   three  hours 
per  day,   setting  types,  for  his  board,   and  taught 
Greek  and  Latin  to  pay  for  his  tuition.     He  thus 
pursued  his  college  studies,  and  entered  the  junior 
class  at  Brown's  university,  Providence.     He  after 
wards   returned    to    Haverhill,    where    he   taught 
school,  and  subsequently  purchased  and  edited  the 
old  Haverhill  Gazette,  called  the  "  old  Essex  junto 
organ."     In  the  winter  of  1835,  he  went  to  Wash 
ington,  where,  during  the  sessions  of  congress,  until 
very  recently,  he  continued  to  reside.     In  1836,  he, 
with  his  brother,  started  the  New  York  Express, 
with  which  paper  he  was  connected  until    1846, 
when  he  sold  out  his  share.     In  1843,  he  went  to 
Europe.      He   traveled    over   England,    Germany, 
Holland,  Italy,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Russia,  Austria, 
Poland  and  France.     His  interesting  letters,  during 
that  tour,  were  copied  into  nearly  every  paper  in 
the  Union,  and  proved  him  to  be  an  acute  observer, 
and  a  ripe  historical  scholar.     In  returning  to  the 
United  States,  in  the  packet  ship  Sheffield,  after  es 
caping  so  many  dangers  abroad,  he  had  a  narrow 
escape  from  shipwreck,  when  in  sight  of  his  native 
land,  in  addition  to  another  in  the  British  channel 
shortly  after  leaving  Liverpool.     On  his  return,  he 
married  an  accomplished  lady,  the  youngest  daugh- 


134  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

ter  of  the  Hon.  Judge  Cranch,  of  Washington  city, 
a  cousin  of  John  Quincy  Adams. 

He  has  recently  purchased  the  Pittsburg  Gazette, 
the  oldest  paper  west  of  the  mountains. 

Mr.  Brooks  is,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  a  self- 
made  man.  How  little  do  men  know  of  their  own 
strength — of  the  deep  spring  and  power  of  a  deter 
mined  will,  until  they  are  rudely  forced  to  put  forth 
their  might — until  a  pressure  of  circumstances  tries 
the  elasticity  of  their  spirits. 


ALBERT  GALLATIN. 

This  famous  statesman  and  financier,  the  only 
survivor  of  the  cabinets  of  Jefferson  and  Madison, 
was  born  in  Geneva,  in  liberty-loving  Switzerland, 
on  the  29th  of  January,  1761,  of  a  family  that  has 
always  held  a  distinguished  rank.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen,  he  graduated  at  the  university  of  his  na 
tive  city.  The  narrow  limits  of  the  country  of  his 
birth,  not  affording  sufficient  scope  for  his  energies 
and  aspirations,  he,  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  his 
family,  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  and  landed 
at  Boston,  in  1780,  bringing  with  him  to  the  coun 
try  of  his  adoption,  an  irreproachable  character,  and 
the  warm  regrets  of  his  friends.  He  immediately 
joined  Col.  Allen,  who  was  at  the  head  of  troops  at 
Machias,  in  Maine,  and  advanced  funds  for  their 
support.  In  1782,  he  was  chosen  professor  of  the 
French  language,  at  Hanover  university,  Cam 
bridge,  Massachusetts;  but,  in  the  ensuing  year, 
1783,  having  received  his  patrimony,  he  proceeded 
to  the  state  of  Virginia,  where  he  purchased  several 
large  tracts  of  land.  In  1785,  he  purchased  his 
farm  at  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania;  and  in 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  135 

1789,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  convention 
for  revising  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 
During  the  same  year,  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  legislature,  in  which  body  he  remained  till 
1793,  when  he  was  chosen  a  senator  of  the  United 
States.  But  his  eligibility  to  the  office  was  con 
tested,  on  the  ground  of  his  not  having  been  a  suf 
ficient  length  of  time  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
He  lost  his  seat  by  a  majority  of  one,  a  strict  party 
vote — all  the  federalists  voting  against  him,  and  all 
the  republicans  voting  for  him.  During  this  year 
he  married,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  Miss  H.Nich 
olson,  the  daughter  of  Commodore  James  Nichol 
son,  a  distinguished  officer  of  the  American  navy, 
during  the  war  of  independence. 

In  1795,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  house 
of  representatives,  where  he  became  one  of  the 
most  efficient  leaders  of  the  republican  party.  It 
was  on  his  motion  that  the  committee  on  ways  and 
means  was  first  organized,  the  house  having,  until 
that  period,  depended  upon  the  treasury  depart 
ment  for  all  information,  and  all  investigation  of 
questions  connected  with  the  public  finances.  This 
is  a  curious  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  al 
most  every  thing  was  left  to  the  executive  depart 
ments.  He  continued  a  member  of  the  house  of 
representatives  till  1801,  when  Mr.  Jefferson  ap 
pointed  him  secretary  of  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States.  He  presided  over  the  treasury  department 
during  the  two  terms  of  President  Jefferson's  ad 
ministration;  also,  during  the  first,  and  the  com 
mencement  of  the  second  term  of  that  of  Madison ; 
when  he  retired,  to  participate  in  the  peace- making 
negotiations  of  Ghent.  In  the  words  of  a  late 
writer,  "it  has  always  been  the  concurring  testi 
mony  of  all  parties,  that  the  treasury  department 
has  never  been  better  administered  than  by  Mr 
Gallatin." 

The  Emperor  Alexander  having  offered  his  medi- 


136  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

ation  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
in  1813,  Mr.  Gallatin  was  appointed  ambassador 
extraordinary  to  Russia,  together  with  his  distin 
guished  associates.  England,  however,  refused  the 
mediation  of  Russia,  but  proposed  to  negotiate  di 
rectly  with  the  United  States,  upon  neutral  ground. 
Gottenburg  was  the  place  at  first  selected — subse 
quently,  however,  Ghent  was  fixed  upon,  and  a 
treaty  of  peace  was  negotiated  and  signed  at  that 
place,  by  Mr.  Gallatin  and  his  colleagues,  on  the 
24th  of  December,  1814.  In  1815,  conjointly  with 
Messrs.  Adams  and  Clay,  he  negotiated  and  signed 
at  London,  a  commercial  convention  with  Great 
Britain.  In  1816,  he  was  appointed  ambassador  to 
Paris,  where  he  remained  until  1823.  During  his 
residence  at  Paris,  he  was  appointed  on  two  extra 
ordinary  missions — one  to  Holland,  in  1817;  and 
the  other  to  England,  in  1818. 

In  1824,  he  was  nominated  by  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Crawford,  as  vice-president  of  the  United  States — 
but  he  declined  the  nomination.  In  1826,  he  was 
appointed  minister  to  England.  He  returned  to  the 
United  States  in  1827,  and  has  ever  since  resided 
in  the  city  of  New  York. 

In  1830,  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  council 
of  the  university;  in  1831,  president  of  the  National 
bank;  in  1843,  president  of  the  New  York  Historical 
society;  and  at  different  times,  president  of  various 
other  scientific  and  literary  institutions.  Since  his 
residence  in  New  York,  he  has  published  several 
learned  works;  and  in  1846,  appeared  his  remarka 
ble  and  unanswerable  letters  on  the  Oregon  contro 
versy.  On  the  subject  of  the  currency,  he  has 
within  the  last  few  years,  published  some  able  and 
elaborate  remarks,  which  are  viewed  as  valuable 
contributions  to  the  general  discussion  on  the  sub 
ject. 

The  author  of  the  celebrated  letters  of  "Curtius," 
speaking  of  Mr.  Gallatin,  says:  "  The  accuracy  of 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  13? 

his  information,  the  extent  of  his  knowledge,  the 
perspicacity  of  his  style,  the  moderation  of  his  tem 
per,  and  the  irresistible  energy  of  his  reasoning 
powers,  render  him  the  ablest  advocate  that  ever 
appeared  in  the  cause  of  truth  and  liberty.  He 
unites  to  the  energy  of  eloquence,  and  the  confi 
dence  of  integrity,  the  precision  of  mathematics, 
the  method  of  logic,  and  the  treasures  of  experi 
ence." 

Although  now  nearly  ninety  years  of  ao-e, 
the  countenance  of  Mr.  Gallatin  betokens  great 
vigor,  and  his  eye  plainly  indicates  that  the  "light 
ning  of  the  soul"  is  not  quenched.  He  has  a  high 
and  ample  forehead,  such  as  artists  love  to  couple 
with  the  features  of  old  age.  With  truth  has  it 
been  observed,  that  this  is  the  only  feature  of  the 
human  face  which  time  spares.  He  dims  the  lus 
tre  of  the  eye— he  shrivels  the  cheeks,  and  thins 
and  whitens  the  hair— but  the  forehead,  that  tem 
ple  of  thought,  is  beyond  his  reach,  or  rather,  it 
shows  more  grand  and  lofty  for  the  ravages  which 
furrowed  it.  The  Democratic  Review  of  1843  in 
a  very  able  notice  of  Mr.  Gallatin,  says- 

'  With  respect  to  the  estimation  in  which  Mr. 
Gallatin  was  held,  throughout  his  diplomatic  ca 
reer  we  may  safely  say,  that  no  American  abroad, 
in  that  capacity,  ever  maintained  a  higher  position, 
in  every  point  of  view.  He  was  uniformly  consi 
dered  in  the  two  great  capitals  of  Europe,  as  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  members  of  the  diplomatic 
corps.  His  eminent  talents,  extent  and  minuteness 
of  general  information,  and  fine  conversational 
powers,  could  not  fail,  every  where,  to  attract  to  his 
person  the  most  distinguished  social  consideration ; 
while,  on  the  part  of  the  governments  to  which  he 
was  accredited,  the  manly  uprightness  and  good 
faith  characterizing  all  his  official  conduct,  in  the 
full  spirit  of  the  American  diplomacy,  secured  to 
him  the  highest  respect  and  confidence." 
18 


1J8  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


JAMES  GALLATIN, 

The  son  of  Albert  Gallatin,  the  subject  of  the  pre 
ceding  sketch,  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on 
the  18th  of  December,  1796,  in  the  house  of  his 
grandfather,  Commodore  James  Nicholson.  He 
graduated  at  Mount  Airy  college,  Pennsylvania.  In 
his  seventeenth  year,  he  accompanied  Vice-Presi- 
derit  Dallas,  as  secretary  attached  to  the  extraordi 
nary  embassy  of  the  United  States  to  Russia.  He 
also  assisted,  in  the  same  capacity,  at  the  negotia 
tion  at  Ghent,  which  resulted  in  the  treaty  of  peace, 
signed  on  the  24th  of  December,  1814,  by  the  ple 
nipotentiaries  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Bri 
tain.  He  remained  attached  to  the  American  em 
bassy  at  Paris,  until  182*3,  when,  with  a  great  acces 
sion  to  his  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  having 
seen  every  variety  of  character  and  society,  in  the 
principal  cities  of  Europe,  he  returned  to  his  native 
land.  In  the  ensuing  year,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight,  he  married  Miss  R.  Paxault,  of  Baltimore, 
Maryland.  During  the  next  eight  years  he  was  en 
gaged  in  surveying  and  selling  lands  in  the  state  of 
Ohio,  and  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  of  Vir 
ginia,  by  which  he  realized  a  considerable  capital. 
The  occupation  of  a  surveyor,  particularly  in  these 
portions  of  the  country,  must  have  been  peculiarly 
pleasant  to  a  young  man  of  ardent  temperament, 
and  romantic  disposition ;  and  his  rambles  through 
the  deep  solitudes  of  the  forest  afforded  him  ample 
opportunities  for  studying  the  sublimities  of  nature, 
for  to  such 

There  is  a  pleasure  in  the  pathless  woods; 
There  is  a  rapture  on  the  lonely  shore ; 
There  is  society  where  none  intrudes. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  139 

With  his  means  thus  increased,  Mr.  Gallatin,  in 
connection  with  his  brother,  established  a  banking 
house  in  the  city  of  New  York.  In  1839,  on  the 
withdrawal  of  his  father  from  the  presidency  of  the 
National  bank,  in  that  city,  he  was  unanimously 
elected  president  of  that  flourishing  institution, 
which  situation  he  now  holds. 

Mr.  Gallatin  is  a  ripe  scholar,  and  well  grounded 
in  classical  literature;  in  addition  to  which  he  is  re 
presented  as  possessing,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the 
capacity  and  business  talents  of  his  honored  parent. 
His  manner  is  calm  and  natural,  and  free  from  that 
flutter  and  anxiety  which  never  can  be  got  rid  of, 
by  one  unaccustomed  to  society,  or  who  endeavors 
to  appear  what  he  is  not.  Yet  his  politeness  is 
more  "the  sincerity  of  a  good  heart,  than  the  eti 
quette  of  modern  fashion."  There  is,  too,  an  ear 
nestness  and  good  faith,  that  gives  assurance  of  the 
high  moral  tone  of  his  character,  and  the  perfect 
integrity  of  his  spirit. 

May  he  live  to  the  same  good  old  age  as  his  fa 
ther;  and  when  his  course  is  run,  may  he  be  entitled 
to  as  green  a  garland. 


140  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


EDWARD  SANFORD, 

A  senator  from  the  first  senatorial  district  of  New 
York,  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  is  a 
son  of  the  late  Chancellor  Sanford.  After  graduat 
ing  at  Union  college,  he  studied  law  in  the  office 
of  the  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  late  attorney-gene 
ral  of  the  United  States.  He  practised  his  profes 
sion  for  some  years,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  but  a 
love  of  literature  predominating,  he  became  con 
nected  with  the  press.  He  successfully  edited  the 
Standard,  and  the  New  York  Times.  The  latter 
was  discontinued  in  1837.  It  was  an  able  demo 
cratic  paper,  but  did  not  concur  with  the  dominant 
party  on  the  subject  of  the  independent  treasury. 

Mr.  Sanford  went  subsequently  to  Washington,  and 
became  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Globe;  in  which  his 
smooth,  flowery  style  afforded  a  curious  contrast  to 
that  of  the  senior  editor,  Mr.  Blair,  which  might 
well  be  compared  to  a  torrent,  dashing  impetuous 
ly  over  every  obstacle. 

The  manners  of  Mr.  Sanford  are  bland  and  gentle 
manly,  and  he  has  long  commanded  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  the  party  to  which  he  is  attached. 
Several  pieces  of  his,  which  have  at  various  times 
appeared  in  the  periodicals,  indicate  that  his  poet 
ical  talents  are  of  the  first  order. 

He  was  recently  nominated  for  the  office  of  sec 
retary  of  state  of  New  York,  but  a  division  in  the 
democratic  ranks  rendered  his  election  impossible. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  141 


CHARLES  ANTHON. 

Dr.  Charles  Anthon  is  the  well  known  Jay  pro 
fessor  of  the  French  and  Latin  languages,  in  Colum 
bia  college,  New  York,  and  rector  of  the  grammar 
school.  If  not  absolutely  the  best,  he  is,  says  Poe, 
at  least  generally  considered  the  best  classicist  in 
America.  In  England,  and  Europe  at  large,  his 
scholastic  acquirements  are  more  sincerely  respect 
ed,  than  those  of  any  of  our  countrymen.  His  ad 
ditions  to  Lempriere,  are  there  justly  regarded  as 
evincing  a  nice  perception  of  method  and  accuracy 
as  Avell  as  of  extensive  erudition ;  but  his  Classical 
Dictionary  has  superseded  the  work  of  the  French 
man  altogether. 

Most  of  Prof.  Anthon's  publications  have  been 
adopted  as  text-books  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge— 
an  honor  to  be  properly  understood  only  by  those 
acquainted  .with  the  many  high  requisites  for  at 
taining  it.  As  a  commentator,  he  may  rank  with 
any  of  his  day,  and  has  evinced  powers  very  un 
usual  in  men  who  devote  their  lives  to  classical 
lore.  His  accuracy  is  very  remarkable.  In  this 
particular  he  is  always  to  be  relied  upon. 

Dr.  Anthon  is,  perhaps,  forty-eight  years  of  age ; 
about  five  feet  eight  inches  in  height;  rather  stout; 
fair  complexion;  hair  light,  and  inclined  to  curl; 
forehead  remarkably  broad  and  high;  eye  gray, 
clear  and  penetrating;  mouth  well  formed,  with 
excellent  teeth — the  lips  having  great  flexibility, 
and  consequent  power  of  expression ;  the  smile  par 
ticularly  pleasing.  His  address  in  general  is  bold, 
frank,  cordial,  full  of  bonhommie.  His  whole  air  is 
distingue,  in  the  best  understanding  of  the  term — 
that  is  to  say,  he  would  impress  any  one,  at  first 
sight,  with  the  idea  of  his  being  no  ordinary  man. 


142  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

He  has  qualities,  indeed,  which  would  have  insured 
him  eminent  success  in  almost  any  pursuit;  and 
there  are  times  when  his  friends  are  half  disposed 
to  regret  his  exclusive  devotion  to  classical  litera 
ture. 


ANDREW  H.  MICKLE. 

»• 

One  of  the  good  old  features  of  a  republic,  is  the 
unrestricted  opportunity  laid  open  to  every  man  to 
earn  for  himself  honorable  distinction.  The  old 
couplet  is  none  the  worse  for  its  age : 

Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise ; 
Act  well  your  part — there  all  the  honor  lies. 

Andrew  H.  Mickle,  says  the  New  York  Sun,  late 
mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York,  commenced  life  a 
poor  boy.  He  was  born  in  a  wretched  one  story 
house  in  Duane  street,  opposite  the  Sixth  Ward  ho 
tel.  At  an  early  age  he  became  an  apprentice  to 
Mr.  Miller,  the  famous  tobacconist,  whose  confi 
dence  he  soon  acquired,  from  his  honesty,  diligence 
and  modest  deportment.  He  soon  became  the  fore 
man  of  that  large  establishment.  At  the  death  of 
Mr.  Miller,  the  whole  business  was  thrown  into 
his  hands,  which  he  managed  for  the  widow,  with 
such  strict  integrity  and  success,  that  she  received 
him  as  a  partner  in  the  concern.  Some  time  after 
ward  he  married  her  daughter.  Thus,  step  by  step, 
he  advanced  to  wealth,  honor  and  reputation — and 
finally  became  mayor  of  this  great  city.  On  his  re 
tirement  from  that  office,  the  New  York  Tribune 
contained  the  following  notice  of  him: 

"We  cannot  chronicle  the  retirement  of  Hon.  A. 
H.  Mickle,  from  the  chief  magistracy  of  our  city, 


ANDREW    H.    MICKLE 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


143 


without  attesting  the  very  general  satisfaction 
which  his  official  course  has  given,  and  especially 
the  latter  portion  of  it.  Mr.  Mickle  came  into  the 
mayoralty  entirely  without  experience,  and  for  some 
time  seemed  unlikely  to  distinguish  himself  from 
the  ephemeral  shoal  of  mere  creatures  of  party, 
whom  the  waves  of  political  commotion  are  con 
stantly  heaving  up  to  view  and  directly  swallowing 
again.  But  he  has  proved  himself  of  nobler  metal 
than  he  was  taken  for,  by  laboring  to  discharge  his 
duty  conscientiously  and  impartially,  destroying 
his  chance  for  a  renornination,  but  winning  for 
himself  an  enduring  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  dis 
cerning  and  the  just.  He  retires  from  office  with 
the  profound  respect  and  esteem  of  our  whole  city. 
Honor  to  his  tried  integrity  and  modest  worth!" 


JAMES  K.  PAULDING, 

Was  born  in  Dutchess  county,  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  on  the  22d  of  August,  1779.  His  ancestors 
were  from  Holland,  and  were  of  high  character  and 
respectability.  In  1838,  Mr.  Paulding  was  appoint 
ed  secretary  of  the  navy,  in  which  office  he  con 
tinued  until  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  pre 
sidential  term.  But  he  is  better  known  throughout 
the  country  as  an  author  and  poet,  than  as  a  states 
man — his  habits  of  retirement  unfitting  him  for  the 
stirring  life  of  a  politician.  When  at  the  head  of 
the  navy  department,  he  was,  it  is  said,  so  fond  of 
shutting  himself  up  in  his  private  room,  where  he 
would  lie  upon  his  back  for  hours,  in  meditation, 
that  he  was  almost  inaccessible  to  persons  having 
business  with  that  branch  of  the  government. 


144  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


AARON  WARD. 

Probably  few  men  in  the  state  of  New  York,  are 
so  widely  known  and  universally  respected,  as  Gen. 
Ward,  of  Westchester  county.     His  history  is  in 
teresting  and  valuable,  and  well  worthy  the  study 
of  young  men.    He  was  born  in  Westchester  county. 
His  father,  Moses  Ward,  in  the  year  1785,  purchased 
a  part  of  the  manorial  estate  of  Frederick  Phillips, 
which  had  been  forfeited  to  the  state  by  his  attain 
der.     This  property  covered  a  large  portion  of  the 
site  of  the  present  village  of  Sing  Sing,  on  the  Hud 
son.     At  the  time  there  were  but  three  dwelling 
houses  in  this  section  of  the  country,  one  of  which, 
an  old  stone  mansion,  used  as  a  fortress  to  defend 
the  settlers  against  the  Indians,  was  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Ward.     His  family  was  one  of  the  oldest  in 
the  country,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  revolu 
tionary  struggle.     The  mother  of  Gen.  Ward  was  a 
niece  of  Col.  Drake,  of  the  continental  army,   and 
his  father's  uncle  was  an  officer  in  Col.  Philip  Van 
Cortland's  regiment,  and  fell  at  Saratoga. 

Destined  for  the  profession  of  the  law,  the  subject 
of  our  sketch  was  placed  at  an  early  age,  under  the 
charge  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nelson,  av  gentleman  of  great 
learning,  and  at  the  time,  principal  of  the  Mount 
Pleasant  academy.  He  afterwards  entered  the  office 
of  Alexander  McDonald,  Esq.,  a  lawyer  of  high 
standing  and  great  worth.  Shortly  after  ^this,  the 
country  became  involved  in  the  war  witji  Great  Bri 
tain,  and  with  characteristic  patriotism,  young 
Ward  left  his  law  books,  and  devoted  himself  to  hei 
service.  The  secretary  of  war  being  in  Albany 
at  the  time,  Gov.  Tompkins  procured  him  a  lieu- 
tenantcy  in  the  29th  regiment  of  infantry,  and  pre 
sented  it  to  him,  with  an  order  to  report  himself 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  145 

immediately  for  duty.  Lieut.  Ward,  then  in  his 
eighteenth  year,  immediately  repaired  to  Albany, 
and  commenced  his  career  as  a  soldier. 

On  his  arrival  at  Albany,   the  governor  tendered 
him  the  appointment  of  aid  to  Gen.  Brown/    Bat 
learning  that  a  conditional  promise  of  the  same 
office  had  been  made  to  Lieut.  Spencer,  (son  of  the 
late  Chief  Justice  Ambrose  Spencer,)  notwithstand 
ing  the  opinion  of  the  governor  that  the  post  was 
his,    Lieut.  Ward    regarding   the  claims   of  Judge 
Spencer  on  the  executive   as  superior  to  his  own 
magnanimously,  declined  in  favor  of  Lieut.  Spencer 
This  brave  officer  fell  at  Lundy's  Lane. 

Gen.  Tompkins  then  procured  him  a  staff  appoint 
ment  in  his  regiment,  but  prefering  active  service, 
he  was,  at  his  own  request,  removed  into  the  line. 
One  or  two  incidents  of  his  first  campaign,  will  illus 
trate  his  character  as  a  brave  soldier. 

In  August,  1813,  while  the  army  under  Gen. 
Hampton  was  on  the  march  towards  Montreal, 
Lieut.  Ward,  with  a  company  of  picked  men,  was 
sent  forward  as  an  advanced  guard.  Not  far  from 
the  American  lines  they  saw  the  enemy,  and  press 
ing  on  to  meet  them,  were  saluted  with  a  sharp 
volley  from  an  advance  force.  A  second  and  third 
volley  ensued,  but  nothing  daunted,  the  gallant 
band  pressed  forward,  until  their  young  officer  gave 
the  word  "Halt!  ready  my  lads!  steadily,  coolly. 
Let  every  ball  tell.  Fire!"  and  springing  to  the 
front,  he  shouted,  "Forward!  quick  march  !  charge  !" 
The  brave  men,  not  a  whit  behind  their  brave  leader, 
scattered  the  enemy  like  chaff.  The  rout  was  total, 
and  the  retreat  of  the  British  so  prompt,  that  their 
dead  and  wounded  were  left  on  the  field. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  a  division  of  the  same 
army,  then  under  command  of  Col.  Purdy,  broke 
up  its  encampment  before  sunset,  with  a  view  of 
read  ling  the  Chateaugay  river,  in  the  rear  of  the 
ener  ay.  They  had  orders  to  cross  and  commence 
19 


146  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

the  attack  at  one  o'clock  on  the  next  day,  at  which 
time  it  was  also  to  be  made  in  front.     The  division 
being  compelled  to  march  through  a  dense  forest, 
did  not  reach  the  ford  in  time.     Brig.  Gen.  Izard 
commenced  the  attack,   and  drove  the  enemy  from 
the  out-posts.     But  finding  that  Col.  Purdy,  who 
had  command  of  most  of  the  light  troops,  could  not 
bring  his  men  into  action,  he  withdrew  his  brigade, 
and  orders  were  sent  to  Col.  Purdy  to  construct  a 
bridge  and  cross  the  river.     But  before  this  could 
be  accomplished,  the  enemy  fell  on  his  command, 
threw  them  into  confusion,  and  many  of  his  officers 
fled  ingloriously  from  the  field.     In  this  emergency, 
Lieut.  Ward,  with  a  few  brave  companions,  uniting 
with  Col.  J.  E.  Wool  and  the  officers  in  command, 
rallied  the  men  and  brought  them  into  action.  Lieut. 
Ward  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  company  of  a 
hundred  men,  with  only  one  officer  to  assist  him. 
The  enemy  being  repulsed,  renewed  the  attack  at 
ten  o'clock  P.  M.,  and  continued  it  till  morning. 
The  gallant  conduct  of  Lieut.  Ward  during  that 
fearful  night,  elicited  the  highest  approbation  of  his 
superiors,  and  the  next  day  he  had  the  honor  of 
leading  the  rear  of  the  army  safely  into  camp. 

In  1814,  he  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy.  On 
the  29th  of  March  in  that  year,  the  northern  army 
under  Gen.  Wilkinson,  concentrated  at  Champlain, 
preparatory  to  marching  against  the  enemy,  then  in 
Canada,  2,500  or  3,000  strong.  The  march  began 
at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning.  Lieut.  Scofield 
had  been  ordered  to  the  right  flank,  with  a  command 
of  fifty  men.  He  was  instructed  to  keep  at  a  dis 
tance  from  the  main  body,  to  protect  it  against 
scouting  parties  of  the  enemy.  He  was  attacked 
by  an  advance  of  the  latter, who  were  securely  posted 
in  a  forest  near  which  the  army  should  have  passed, 
but  for  a  mistake  or  the  treachery  of  the  guide.  A 
halt  was  ordered,with  a  view  of  giving  the  advance, 
then  two  miles  distant,  an  opportunity  to  coulter- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  147 

march,  and  the  general  in  command,  perceiving 
the  exposed  situation  of  Lieut.  Scofield,  sent  Capt. 
Ward  with  a  company  to  his  support.  Assuming 
the  command,  Capt. Ward  made  his  position  strong, 
and  maintained  it  against  a  largely  superior  force ; 
and  ultimately,  by  a  well-directed  movement  on 
their  flank,  he  drove  the  enemy  from  their  post. 

At  this  time  he  received  orders  to  maintain  his  po 
sition  at  all  hazards ;  and  he  not  only  did  so,  but  after 
a  severe  conflict,  he  compelled  the  enemy  to  retreat. 

The  limits  of  this  sketch  forbid  our  entering  far 
ther  into  the  military  career  of  Gen.  Ward.  It  will 
be  sufficient  to  say,  that- he  continued  in  the  service 
till  the  close  of  the  war,  adding  new  laurels  to  those 
already  won,  and  discharging  every  duty  with  rigid 
exactness,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  obtain  for 
him  the  repeated  approbation  of  superior  officers. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  at  the  head  of  a  battalion, 
he  conducted  the  first  detachment  of  British  prison 
ers,  numbering  some  six  or  seven  hundred  men,  from 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  to  Canada.  His  kindness  to  them 
on  their  march,  in  an  inclement  season,  drew  from 
them  an  expression  of  hearty  thanks,  and  they  begged 
him  to  accept  a  valuable  watch,  as  a  token  of  their 
esteem  and  gratitude.  Capt.  Ward  was  of  course 
highly  gratified  by  this  unexpected  tribute,  but  al 
though  he  received  their  vote  of  thanks,  and  replied 
to  it,  he  declined  receiving  the  present  with  which 
it  was  accompanied.  An  offering  of  this  kind,  un 
der  such  circumstances,  was  of  far  greater  value 
than  the  gold  snuff  boxes,  and  diamond  hilted 
swords,  which  it  is  customary  for  foreign  potentates 
to  present  to  our  ministers. 

The  war  being  terminated,  and  his  services  no 
longer  required,  Capt.  Ward  resumed  and  completed 
his  legal  studies  in  the  office  of  H. Van  Derlyn,  Esq., 
of  Oxford;  and  on  his  admission  to  the  bar,  he  re 
turned  to  his  native  village,  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession. 


1 
148  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

In  January,  1820,  he  married  the  only  daughter 
of  Elkanah  Watson  of  Albany,  a  lady  who  has  al 
ways  commanded,  by  her  worth  and  amiability,  the 
highest  esteem  of  all  who  have  the  honor  of  her 
acquaintance.  Mr.  Watson  is  well  known  in  the 
state,  as  a  philanthropist  of  the  noblest  order. 

Capt.  Ward  was  soon  afterwards  appointed  dis 
trict  attorney  for  Westchester  county.  On  the  1st 
of  September,  1824,  he  was  elected  colonel  of  a  re 
giment  in  Mount  Pleasant. 

Devoting  himself  with  patience  and  perseverance 
to  his  profession,  he  soon  attained  a  high  standing, 
which  in  connexion  with  his  private  worth,  and 
great  popularity  in  his  county,  soon  removed  him, 
in  1825,  to  a  seat  in  the  halls  of  congress.  He  was 
elected  to  represent  the  district  composed  of  the 
counties  of  Westchester  and  Putnam,  and  was  sub 
sequently  continued  in  that  county  for  a  period  of 
twelve  years,  his  last  term  expiring  in  1843.  This 
unusual  length  of  time  passed  in  Congress,  proves 
how  fully  he  possessed  the  confidence  of  his  con 
stituency. 

The  character  of  this  work  will  not  permit  us  to 
give  more  than  a  general  review  of  the  political  ca 
reer  of  Gen.  Ward — probably  the  most  interesting 
portion  of  his  life.  His  career  was  in  a  period 
fraught  with  important  and  exciting  incidents,  and 
rarely  equaled  for  the  discussion  of  great  and  vital 
questions,  bearing  on  the  destinies  of  the  county. 
Among  these  were — nullification,  tariff,  recharter 
of  the  United  States  bank,  removal  of  the  deposites, 
sub-treasury,  etc. — with  all  of  which  Gen.  Ward 
had  an  intimate  personal  connection;  and  to  do  jus 
tice  to  his  labors  would  involve  the  necessity  of 
writing  a  political  history  of  the  country  during  that 
period.  He  was  a  warm  supporter  of  the  adminis 
trations  of  Jackson  and  Van  Buren.  Not  only  were 
his  efforts  directed  to  the  advancement  of  the  inte 
rests  of  his  constituents,  but  also  those  of  neighbor- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  149 

ing  districts,  as  well  as  of  the  country  at  large.  The 
city  of  New  York  is  especially  indebted  to  him  for 
his  exertions,  in  behalf  of  many  important  commer 
cial  measures  then  before  congress,  On  all  the 
leading  measures  for  the  defence  and  preservation 
of  the  Union,  he  uniformly  gave  his  influence  and 
vote. 

One  of  his  first  efforts  in  congress  was  for  his 
companions  in  arms,  the  defenders  of  Plattsburg — 
and  after  a  zealous  advocacy  of  the  bill  for  their 
relief,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  become  a 
law.  He  next  united  with  the  committee  on  revo 
lutionary  pensions,  and  advocated  the  pension  bill 
with  great  force  and  eloquence. 

He  advocated  the  increase  of  the  pay  of  the  navy, 
and  was  instrumental  in  the  passage  of  the  bill, 
which  placed  that  meritorious  class  of  officers  on  a 
respectable  footing.  He  was  always  on  the  milita 
ry  committees  of  the  house,  and  thus  had  opportu 
nities  to  be  of  service  to  the  army  and  navy,  whose 
firm  friend  he  always  remained.  He  urged  the  ad 
dition  of  the  two  regiments  of  dragoons  to  the  regu 
lar  army,  and  always  strenuously  opposed  any  at 
tempt  to  reduce  that  force.  The  West  Point  aca 
demy  is  indebted  to  him  for  an  inflexible  friend 
ship,  which  he  always  manifested,  and  which  was 
successful  in  insuring  for  it  the  support  of  congress. 
He  spoke  often,  and  with  great  zeal,  in  its  defence. 
One  of  his  favorite  measures,  which  he  repeatedly 
but  ineffectually  urged  on  the  attention  of  congress, 
was  a  plan  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  sol 
diers  in  the  army. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  1830,  he  was  elected  bri 
gadier-general,  and  on  the  10th  of  February,  1835, 
was  promoted  by  Gov.  Marcy  to  the  rank  of  major- 
general — in  which  rank  he  is  still  continued  under 
the  new  constitution  of  the  state. 

In  1846,  he  was  a  member  of  the  state  conven- 


150  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

tion  which  revised  the  constitution,  and  in  which 
he  took  an  active  part. 

As  a  debater,  Gen.  Ward  speaks  with  grace  and 
fluency.  Open,  frank  and  courteous,  he  left  con 
gress  with  the  cordial  respect  of  all.  Although  ever 
faithful  to  his  party,  his  gentlemanly  course  never 
gave  his  opponents  reason  to  complain  of  a  harsh 
word  or  a  rude  remark. 

Gen.  Ward  is  a  devoted  friend  of  literature,  a'nd 
has  distinguished  himself  by  continued  exertions  in 
favor  of  all  institutions  whose  object  is  the  promo 
tion  of  knowledge.  The  village  in  which  he  re 
sides  is  especially  indebted  to  him  for  these  efforts. 
He  is  a  warm  advocate  of  the  poor,  and  the  op 
pressed,  as  all  who  know  him  will  bear  testimony. 
As  a  husband  and  a  father,  if  we  may  be  allowed 
to  enter  the  hallowed  circle  of  the  family,  he  is  said 
to  be  without  a  superior.  The  cares  of  public  life, 
and  the  weight  of  political  trouble,  of  which  he  has 
borne  more  than  his  share,  have  never  been  so 
great  as  to  cause  him  to  forget  home,  and  its  price 
less  treasures.  He  is  still  living,  in  the  vigor  and 
prime  of  life,  and  whether  he  remain  in  private 
life  or  not,  long  may  he  live  to  honor  his  name,  as 
the  soldier,  the  statesman,  the  philanthropist  and 
the  friend. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  151 


SAMUEL  H.  P.  HALL. 

Senator  Hall  was  born  at  Middletown,  Connecti 
cut,  in  1804.    His  great-grandfather,  on  his  mother's 
side,  was  the  celebrated  Jonathan  Parsons,  of  New- 
buryport,  Massachusetts,  a  distinguished  divine,  and 
whose  name  occupies  a  conspicuous  place  in  the 
history  of  that  time.    The  celebrated  Whitfield  died 
at   his   house.     They  are   both   buried   under   the 
church  at  Newburyport.     The  maternal  grandfather 
of  Mr.  Hall  was  Samuel  Holden  Parsons,  son  of 
Jonathan,  whose  name  he  bears.     Mr.  Parsons  was 
educated  as  a  lawyer,  and  was  a  man  of  no  ordina 
ry  talents.     He  settled  at  Danbury,  in  Connecticut, 
but  subsequently  removed  to  Middletown,  in  the 
same  state.     He  there  married  Mehetable  Mather, 
of  Lyme,  Connecticut,  and  by  whom  he  had  seven 
children.     Soon  after  the  commencement   of  the 
revolutionary  war,   congress  appointed   him  a  bri 
gadier-general,  and  he  mustered  the  state  troops  of 
Connecticut  into  the  service  of  the  general  govern 
ment,  when  they  became  continental  troops.     He 
was  soon  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  in 
which  capacity  he  served  his  country  during  the 
war.     He  was  a  particular  friend  of  Washington, 
who,  in  that  time  which  tried   men's  souls,  relied 
much  on  his  judgment  and  advice.     Gen.  Parsons 
was  one  of  the  officers  who  composed  the  court 
martial  that  tried  and   condemned  the  unfortunate 
Andre.     He  was  subsequently  appointed  a  commis 
sioner,  and  sent  to  the  north  western  territory,  on 
business   of  the   government.     After   escaping    so 
many  dangers  in  his  eventful  life,  he  was  drowned 
in  the  Great  Bear  creek,  near  its  confluence  with 
the  Ohio  river.     How  many,  after  coming  out  un 
scathed  from  amidst  the  shock  of  contending  hosts, 


152  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

are  found  by  death,  in  the  quiet  home  where  all  ap 
pears  secure !  His  widow  survived  several  years, 
and  was  buried  at  Middletown,  Connecticut. 

Mehetable  Parsons,  daughter  of  the  general,  mar 
ried  Dr.  William  B.  Hall,  of  MiddletoAvn,  who  was 
originally  of  Meriden,  in  the  same  state.  He  was 
a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  New  Haven.  His  fa 
ther  was  a  wealthy  farmer  of  Me'riden,  and  his 
grandfather  was  the  minister  at  Cheshire,  Connec 
ticut. 

Dr.  Hall  died  at  Middletown,  in  1809,  leaving 
two  sons,  William  B.,  and  Samuel  H.  P.  Hall,  the 
subject  of  our  sketch. 

O  weep  not  for  the  friends  that  pass 

Into  the  lonesome  grave, 
As  breezes  sweep  the  withered  grass 

Along  the  restless  wave : 
For  though  thy  pleasures  may  depart, 

And  darksome  days  be  given, 
Yet  bliss  awaits  the  holy  heart, 

When  friends  rejoin  in  heaven. 

At  the  age  of  four  years,  Samuel  was  deprived  of 
a  father  and  protector,  but  he  was  blessed  with  one 
of  the  best  of  mothers,  who  spared  no  pains  in  in 
stilling  correct  principles  in  the  mind  of  her  son. 
She  was  one  of  those  who  are  aware  that,  as  a  straw 
will  make  an  impression  on  the  virgin  snow,  but 
after  a  time  a  horse's  hoof  cannot  quench  it,  so  it 
is  with  the  youthful  mind — a  trifling  word  may 
make  an  impression,  but  in  after  years  the  most 
powerful  appeals  may  cease  to  influence  it.  She 
was  a  mother  to  whom  might  well  be  applied  the 
words  of  the  poet: 

She  led  me  first  to  God ; 
Her  words  and  prayers  were  my  young  spirit's  dew, 

For  when  she  used  to  leave 

The  fireside  every  eve, 
I  knew  it  was  for  prayer  that  she  withdrew. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  153 

With  truth  has  it  been  said,  that  integrity,  un 
flinching  perseverance  in  every  sex-like  duty,  and 
a  heroic  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  whenever  occasion 
calls  for  it,  are  transmitted  traits  in  the  women  of 
that  region. 

Samuel  was  educated  and  provided  for  by  his 
mother,  until  his  age  and  qualifications  enabled  him 
to  enter  a  store  as  clerk.  Here  the  affability  of  his 
manner  soon  rendered  him  a  general  favorite,  and 
possessing  naturally  great  energy  of  character,  and 
buoyant  with  health  and  hope,  in  the  course  of 
time  he  was  enabled  to  commence  business  on  his 
own  account. 

In  1826,  he  married  Miss  Emeline  Bulkley,  of 
Rocky  Hill,  Connecticut,  the  daughter  of  Charles 
Bulkley,  Esq.,  of  that  place,  and  by  whom  he  has 
had  five  children.  His  eldest  son,  Charles,  is  now 
at  Yale  college. 

In  the  spring  of  1837,  Mr.  Hall  removed  to  Bing- 
hamton,  Broome  county,  New  York,  where  he  has 
conducted  a  large  and  extensive  mercantile  estab 
lishment,  with  considerable  success. 

After  holding  several  minor  offices,  he  was,  in 
1846,  nominated  as  state  senator  to  the  New  York 
legislature,  from  the  sixth  senatorial  district,  com 
prising  nine  counties  in  the  southern  portion  of  the 
state.  He  received  more  than  25,000  votes,  and  a 
majority  of  over  1,700  over  Judge  Hawley,  of  Steu- 
ben  county,  the  opposing  candidate. 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  1847,  Mr.  Hall  took 
the  oath  of  office  at  Albany,  and  commenced  his 
duties  as  one  of  the  court  of  errors,  which  was  then 
in  session — and  the  little  fatherless  boy,  who  stood 
behind  the  counter,  is  now  a  senator ! 

Mr.  Hall  has  very  recently,  by  a  large  majority, 
been  reflected  for  another  senatorial  term. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Mr.  Hall  attained 
his  present  position  without  obstacles  to  surmount, 
and  great  difficulties  to  overcome.  On  the  contra- 
20 


154  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

ry,  he  has  had  an  ample  share  of  opposition.  But 
he  is  not  one  of  those  people  who,  "  having  begun 
life  by  setting  their  boat  against  wind,  and  tide,  are 
always  complaining  of  their  bad  luck,  and  always 
just  ready  to  give  up,  and  for  that  very  reason  are 
helpless  and  good  for  nothing;  and  yet,  if  they 
would  persevere,  hard  as  it  may  be  to  work  up 
stream,  all  their  life  long,  they  would  have  their  re 
ward  at  last.  In  the  words  of  that  pithy  writer, 
John  Neal,  "  Good  voyages  are  made  both  ways. 
A  certain  amount  of  opposition  is  a  great  help  to  a 
man.  Kites  rise  against,  not  with  the  wind.  Even 
a  head  wind  is  better  than  nothing,  No  man  ever 
worked  his  voyage  any  where,  in  a  dead  calm. 
The  best  wind  for  every  thing,  in  the  long  run,  is  a 
side  wind.  If  it  blows  right  aft,  how  is  he  to  get 
back? 

"  Let  no  man  wax  pale,  therefore,  because  of  op 
position.  Opposition  is  what  he  wants,  and  must 
have,  to  be  good  for  any  thing.  Hardship  is  the 
native  soil  of  manhood  and  self-reliance.  He  that 
cannot  abide  the  storm,  without  flinching  or  quail 
ing — strips  himself  in  the  sunshine,  and  lies  down 
by  the  wayside,  to  be  overlooked  and  forgotten.  He 
who  but  braces  himself  to  the  struggle  when  the 
winds  blow — gives  up,  when  they  have  done,  and 
falls  asleep  in  the  stillness  that  follows. 

"  Did  you  ever  know  any  body  stick  to  any  kind 
of  business,  no  matter  how  unpromising,  ten  years 
at  most,  who  did  not  prosper?  Not  one!  no  mat 
ter  how  bad  it  might  be  at  the  beginning — if  he 
stuck  to  it  earnestly  and  faithfully,  and  tried  no 
thing  else — no  matter  how  hard  he  may  have  found 
it  sometimes  to  keep  his  head  above  water — still,  if 
he  persevered,  he  always  came  out  bright  in  the 
end— didn't  he?" 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  155 


VAN  KENSSELAER  HOWE. 

It  has  been  truly  said,  that  it  is  not  always  the 
men  who  shine  with  the  most  brilliancy  before  the 
world,  and  occasionally  astonish  our  senses  with 
their  exploits,  who  are  really  the  most  useful  or  the 
most  worthy.  There  are  many  whose  lives  afford 
but  few  incidents  calculated  to  excite  interest  or 
allure  attention,  which  are  not,  however,  less  wor 
thy  of  record,  or  barren  of  utility. 

Brought  up  from  early  youth  to  a  life  of  labor, 
Mr.  Rowe  is,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  a  self- 
made  man.  Blessed  with  fine  health,  a  cheerful 
mind,  and  buoyant  spirits,  he  is  not  one  of  that 
class  who  are  always  fancying  that  the  world  has 
gone  particularly  wrong  with  them,  because  of  some 
trifling  pecuniary  loss,  or  the  failure  of  some  che 
rished  speculation.  Although  from  his  boyhood 
temperate  and  economical,  he  did,  on  one  occasion, 
when  quite  young,  get  intoxicated,  "just  to  know 
how  it  would  seem."  But,  notwithstanding  the 
motive  was  only  curiosity,  the  result  was  a  week's 
illness,  and  he  was  so  thoroughly  dissatisfied  with 
the  experiment,  that  he  never  for  once  dreamed  of 
its  repetition.  Would  that  thousands  of  others 
could  be  convinced  by  a  single  trial !  The  blos 
soms  of  paradise  would  burst  forth  before  the  wan 
ing  of  another  moon. 

About  five  years  since,  the  subject  of  our  sketch, 
having  by  his  own  unaided  exertions  secured  an 
extensive  and  prosperous  business,  became  con 
vinced  of  the  truth  of  those  words,  which  floated 
on  the  breeze  through  the  groves  of  Eden,  more  than 
six  thousand  years  ago — "  It  is  not  good  for  man 
to  be  alone!"  Under  these  circumstances  he  be 
came  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Helen  Elizabeth 


156  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

McGregor,  one  of  the  accomplished  daughters  of 
Dr.  J.  B.  McGregor,  of  Rochester,  New  York.  How 
many  now  in  the  "  sere  and  yellow  leaf,"  wish  that 
when  young  they  had  done  likewise!  O  aged 
bachelor,  as  your  head  falls  back  upon  the  pillow, 
do  you  not  think — in  a  whisper  be  it  spoken — how 
pleasant  in  those  night  solitudes,  would  have  been 
the  rise  and  fall  of  "  a  softer  breathing  than  your 
own,  the  quick  throb  of  a  purer  heart,  imparting 
peacefulness  to  your  troubled  hours!  Yet,  as  "the 
velvet  moss  will  grow  upon  the  sterile  rock ;  the 
mistletoe  nourish  on  the  withered  branch ;  the  ivy 
cling  to  the  mouldering  ruin;  the  pine  and  cedar 
remain  fresh  and  fadeless  through  the  dying  year — 
so  even  the  remembrance  only  of  a  pure  affection, 
like  something  green,  something  beautiful  to  see, 
and  grateful  to  the  soul,  will,  in  the  coldest  and 
darkest  hour  of  fate,  still  twine  its  tendrils  around 
the  crumbling  altars,  and  broken  arches,  and  deso 
lated  temples  of  the  human  heart." 

Mrs.  Rowe  is,  we  believe,  a  native  of  Newport, 
New  Hampshire;  and  with  others  of  her  sex,  who 
are  blessed  with  a  keen  perception  of  the  beautiful 
in  nature,  is  passionately  fond  of  flowers,  as  the 
true  emblems  of  loveliness  and  innocence,  and  the 
living  types  of  all  that  is  pleasing  and  graceful. 
Well  might  one  of  our  gifted  writers  ask,  "where 
would  the  poet  fly  for  his  images  of  beauty,  if  they 
were  to  perish  forever?  Do  we  not  compare  young 
lips  to  the  rose  ?  does  not  the  winning  eye  gather 
its  glow  from  the  violet  ?  and  is  not  a  sweet  voice, 
like  a  breeze  kissing  its  way  through  flowers? 
Sweet  flowers !  that  bring  before  our  eyes  scenes  of 
childhood— faces  remembered  in  youth,  when  Love 
was  a  stranger  to  himself!  The  mossy  bank  by 
the  wayside— the  sheltered  glen,  darkly  green,  filled 
with  the  perfume  of  violets,  that  shone  in  their  in 
tense  blue,  like  another  sky  spread  upon  the  earth 
— the  laughter  of  merry  voices — the  sweet  song  of 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  157 

the  maiden — the  downcast  eye — the  spreading  blush 
— the  kiss  ashamed  of  its  own  sound — are  all 
brought  back  to  memory  by  a  flower !" 

Asking  the  indulgence  of  the  reader,  for  this  di 
gression,  we  will  conclude  this  sketch  by  saying, 
that  eminently  happy  in  his  domestic  relations,  and 
honored  by  his  fellow  citizens,  for- his  high  integrity 
and  sterling  worth,  Mr.  Rowe  still  continues  to  re 
side  at  the  city  of  Rochester,  where  may  the  music 
of  its  gushing  waters,  ever  be  a  herald  of  pleasures 
to  come. 


THOMAS  W.  OLCOTT. 

This  gentleman  is  a  descendant  of  Thomas  Ol- 
cott,  who  was  among  the  first  settlers  of  the  town 
of  Hartford,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  trade 
and  commerce  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut.  "  e 
precise  period  of  his  emigration  from  England  is 
not  known,  but  he  was  one  of  the  "  goodly  compa 
ny"  of  men,  women  and  children,  who  in  June, 
1635,  left  Newtown,  now  Cambridge,  and  other 
settlements  on  the  sea  board  of  Massachusetts,  to 
plant  a  new  colony  on  the  delightful  banks  of  the 
Connecticut. 

Mr.  Olcott  had  been  educated  in  Europe,  a  mer 
chant,  and  in  common  with  others  he  engaged  in 
trade,  for  which  Connecticut  afforded  great  facili 
ties,  especially  the  traffic  in  furs. 

There  is  no  positive  evidence  as  to  the  maiden 
name  of  Mrs.  Olcott,  but,  says  Mr.  Goodwin,  it  is 
safe  to  conjecture  that  she  was  a  Porter,  from  Lon 
don,  from  the  circumstance  that,  on  the  death  of 
Mr.  David  Porter,  of  England,  who  was  drowned  in 
the  river,  while  on  a  visit  to  the  colony,  letters  of 


158  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

administration  were  granted  to  Mrs.  Olcott.  The 
following  quaint  exhibit  of  the  expenses  attending 
the  funeral  of  Mr.  Porter,  shows  that  a  custom, 
more  honored  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance, 
then  prevailed  in  the  colony: 

JUNE  8,   1678. 

An  accompt  of  what  ivas  expended  on  Mr.  David  Porter,  for  his 
taking  up  and  burial. 

By  a  pint  of  Lyqr.  to  those  that  dived  for  him,         -  £00  01  00 

By  a  qrt.  of  Lyqr.  to  those  that  brought  him  home,  00  02  00 

By  2  qrts.  of  wine  and  ga".  of  sydr.  to  y"  Jury  of  Inquest,  00  05  04 

By  8  ga"9.  &  3  qrts.  wine  for  the  funeral,  cost       -  -     01  15  00 

By  a  barr".  of  sydr.  for  do.  cost       -  00  16  00 

By  a  coffin,  cost -     00  12  00 

By  a  windeing  sheete,  cost  00  18  00 

By  to  pay  for  the  grave,  •     00  05  00 

£04   14  04 

This  given  into  the  Court,  at  Hartford,  December  9th,  1768,  by 
the  consent  of  my  mother,  Mrs.  Abigail  Olcott,  per  me, 

THO:  OLCOTT. 

Mrs.  Olcott  died  on  the  26th  of  May,  1693,  aged 
seventy-eight  years. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir,  Thomas  W.  Olcott, 
is  the  son  of  Josiah  Olcott,  of  Hudson,  New  York. 
He  has  for  many  years  been  president  of  the  Me 
chanics'  and  Farmers'  bank,  of  Albany,  to  which 
honorable  position,  by  his  high  character  and  busi 
ness  talents,  he  rose  from  that  of  a  junior  clerk  in 
that  institution.  A  more  public  spirited  man,  or  a 
greater  arid  more  efficient  friend  to  all  useful  and 
benevolent  enterprises,  does  not  exist.  With  a 
clear  head  and  a  warm  heart,  he  has  been  the  main 
spring  of  many  a  great  movement,  the  influence  of 
which  shall  reach  beyond  the  grave. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  1818,  Mr.  Olcott  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Caroline  Pepoon,  of 
Stockbridge,  Massachusetts,  by  whom  he  has  had 
eleven  children. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  159 


SAMUEL  GORDON. 

This  distinguished  man  was  born  at  Wattle's  fer 
ry,  on  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Susquehannah,  in 
the  state  of  New  York,  on  the  28th  of  April,  1802. 
His  father,  William  Gordon,  was  a  native  of  Mass 
achusetts,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  served  in  the 
revolutionary  war,  as  a  substitute  for  his  parent,  at 
North  point,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk.  He 
was  in  the  battle  at  Canada  creek,  where  Butler,  a 
British  officer,  was  killed  by  an  Oneida  Indian,  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States.  He  was  a  man  of 
undaunted  courage,  daring  intrepidity,  and  great 
physical  strength ;  persevering  and  untiring  in  the 
pursuit  of  his  object;  a  good  judge  of  men  and 
things,  but  of  an  irascible  temper.  He  was  a  pi 
oneer  in  the  settlement  of  the  Chenango  valley,  hav 
ing  moved  into  that  region  while  the  red  man  of 
the  forest  still  made  his  abode  there,  and  before 
there  were  any  schools,  roads,  or  public  improve 
ments  of  any  kind.  He  went,  with  his  wife  and 
child,  into  the  solitary  wilderness,  with  none  but 
the  Indians  for  his  neighbors,  and  when  the  early 
settler  was  compelled  at  night  to  build  a  large  fire 
at  the  door  of  his  shanty,  to  keep  off  the  wolves  and 
other  wild  beasts.  But  with  this  temporary  dwell 
ing,  the  sturdy  axeman  was  content.  With  his 
rifle  he  procured  abundance  of  food,  and  in  process 
of  time  he  soon  became  the  possessor  of  a  fine  farm 
on  the  flats,  at  the  ferry,  where  he  died  in  1825. 

Samuel  received  nothing  more  than  a  common 
school  education,  but  it  was  remarked,  that  what 
ever  he  did  learn,  was  grasped  with  "  hooks  of  steel ;" 
and  he  was  one  of  those  troublesome  boys,  who  are 
always  perplexing  their  teacher  with  the  why?  and 
the  wherefore  ?  His  stern  determination  to  attain 


160  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

an  object,  when  once  decided  upon,  was  then,  as 
now,  a  prominent  feature  in  his  character.  He  was 
of  a  most  stirring  and  enterprising  turn,  and  any 
thing  in  which  courage  and  endurance,  whether  of 
body  or  mind,  were  required,  were  the  pursuits 
after  which  he  panted.  His  love  of  argument  ren 
dered  him  a  rather  vexatious  companion,  to  that 
class  of  his  school  mates  who  were  ready  to  take 
every  thing  for  granted.  He  was,  in  fact,  it  is  pre 
sumed,  the  school  lawyer;  and  from  the  well 
known  impetuosity  of  his  temper,  there  is  but  little 
doubt  that  he  more  frequently  recorded  his  deci 
sions  with  his  fist,  upon  the  bodies  of  the  appel 
lants,  than  by  the  more  approved  mode  qf  pen  and 
ink. 

After  leaving  school,  he  was  brought  up  as  a 
farmer.  This  quiet  pursuit,  however,  viewed  as  a 
mere  mechanical  employment,  was  far  from  being 
congenial  with  his  active  mind,  and  he  was  ever 
looking  forward  to  the  law.  With  this  view,  Jie 
was  seldom  without  a  book  in  his  pocket,  and  be 
fore  he  was  twenty  years  of  age,  he  was  a  self- 
taught  Greek  and  Latin  scholar,  and  while  break 
ing  the  stubborn  soil,  he  was  plowing  deep  into  the 
mysteries  of  ancient  lore.  It  was  not,  however,  un 
til  his  twenty-fifth  year,  that  an  opportunity  pre 
sented  itself  for  carrying  into  effect  his  long  che 
rished  wish  to  become  a  lawyer.  He  then,  in  1827, 
bade  adieu  to  the  farm,  and  removed  to  Delhi,  in 
Delaware  county,  New  York,  his  present  residence, 
where  he  became  a  student  in  the  office  of  the  late 
Gen.  Root.  So  rapid  was  his  progress,  that  in  a 
very  short  time  the  entire  business  of  the  office  was 
entrusted  to  him.  In  1829,  he  was  admitted  an  at 
torney  in  the  supreme  court  of  the  state.  He  then 
became  a  partner  with  Gen.  Root,  in  the  practice 
of  the  law.  This  engagement  continued  until  1835, 
when  Mr.  Gordon  continued  the  business  on  his 
own  account.  In  1831,  he  was  appointed  postmas- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  161 

ter  at  Delhi,  which  office  he  held  until  his  resigna 
tion,  in  1841.  In  1832,  he  was  admitted  a  coun 
sellor  of  the  supreme  court,  and  solicitor  and  coun 
sellor  in  chancery.  In  1834,  he  was  appointed  dis 
trict-attorney  of  the  county  of  Delaware,  the  duties 
of  which  office  he  energetically  discharged  for  three 
years. 

In  1833,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  assem 
bly  of  the  New  York  legislature.  While  there,  he 
made  many  able  argumentative  speeches.  Among 
them  was  one  in  opposition  to  a  bill  for  the  aboli 
tion  of  capital  punishment.  So  powerful  was  his 
reasoning,  and  so  eloquently  was  it  maintained, 
that  to  this  speech  the  defeat  of  the  bill,  although 
ably  defended  'by  the  Hon.  John  McKeon,  and  other 
distinguished  speakers,  was  mainly  attributed. 

In  1840,  Mr.  Gordon  was  elected  to  congress  from 
the  twentieth  congressional  district,  embracing  the 
counties  of  Delaware  and  Broorne.  In  1844,  he 
was  again  elected,  by  a  considerable  majority,  over 
a  very  worthy  gentleman  of  the  opposite  party,  who 
was  also  his  former  competitor.  This  triumphant 
reelection  was  considered  as  nothing  more  than  a 
just  tribute  to  "capacity,  sound  political  views,  and 
high  personal  worth."  During  the  four  years  which 
Mr.  Gordon  served  in  the  national  legislature,  he 
was  a  stern  and  uncompromising  advocate  of  the 
interests  of  the  masses,  and  always  stood  foremost 
in  the  defence  of  the  laboring  man.  In  the  twenty- 
seventh  congress,  amidst  the  greatest  uproar  and 
excitement  perhaps  ever  witnessed  in  that  body,  he 
made  a  speech  against  the  bill  appropriating  $25,000 
for  the  widow  of  the  late  President  Harrison;  and  so 
little  was  he  affected  by  the  continued,  almost  deaf 
ening  interruptions,  that  they  were  seldom  after-* 
wards  attempted.  He  showed  that  he  was  not  a 
man  who  would  permit  the  freedom  of  speech  to  be 
put  down  by  noise.  In  these  attempts  to  get  rid  of 
a  speaker  by  clamor,  perhaps  both  parties  are  equal- 
21 


162  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK 

ly  guilty.     When  will  the  reprehensible  practice  be 
abolished  ? 

At  the  first  session  of  the  twenty-ninth  congress, 
Mr.  Gordon  spoke  with  his  usual  ability  upon  near 
ly  all  the  great  measures  under  consideration.  His 
principal  speech  was  upon  the  Oregon  question,  in 
which  he  strenuously  advocated  the  validity  of  our 
claim  to  the  whole  territory.  At  the  following  ses 
sion,  he  made  the  opening  speech  in  favor  of  the 
Wilmot  proviso,  and  he  subsequently  replied  to  the 
arguments  on  the  other  side.  For  both  efforts  he 
received  the  warm  congratulations  of  his  friends 
on  the  floor.  Unlike  some  others,  he  went  for  the 
proviso  without  the  least  qualification ;  and  the  flat 
tering  testimonials  he  afterwards  received  from  his 
constituents,  showed  that  his  course  was  heartily 
approved  by  them. 

In  1842,  he  was  admitted  an  attorney  and  coun 
sellor  in  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States. 

Of  his  ability  as  a  lawyer,  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak, 
as  the  numerous  important  cases  which  he  has  suc 
cessfully  conducted,  will  speak  for  themselves.  In 
heriting  the  irritable  temperament  of  his  father,  he 
is  an  impassioned  and  zealous  advocate,  forgetting 
for  the  time  every  thing  but  the  interests  of  his  c\i- 
ent,  and  in  the  performance  of  that  duty,  knowing 
neither  friend  nor  foe.  Keen,  shrewd,  active  and 
persevering,  he  is  the  last  man  to  be  frightened  out 
of  what  he  conceives  to  be  a  duty. 

For  the  information  of  the  curious,  it  may  be 
stated  that  Mr.  Gordon  is,  beyond  doubt,  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Lord  George  Gordon.  Of  this,  how 
ever,  he  has  never  boasted,  as  he  is  one  of  those 
who  hold  that— 

Not  stars  and  titles  make  a  lord  ; 

He  's  only  noble  who  is  good ; 
Kind  hearts  are  more  than  coronets, 

And  freedom's  gifts  than  Norman  blood. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  163 

It  has  been  well  remarked,  that  however  unim 
portant  we  may  view  such  pretensions  as  are  found 
ed  on  ancestral  worth  alone,  and  however  politic  it 
may  have  been  in  a  republican  government  to  re 
ject  all  claims  to  distinction,  growing  out  of  such  a 
cause,  we  may  still  feel,  and  with  propriety  gratify 
a  curiosity,  as  to  the  race  whence  our  eminent  pub 
lic  servants  have  drawn  their  descent. 

In  conclusion,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  Mr. 
Gordon  is  a  bachelor.  He,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
nine,  married  Miss  Frances  Leet,  and  he  has  seve 
ral  children. 


BARENT  P.  STAATS. 

This  distinguished  character,  whose  life  we  are 
about  to  sketch,  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  truth 
of  the  remark,  that  the  medical  profession  of  the 
United  States  embraces  within  its  circle,  as  much, 
if  not  more  talent,  than  is  to  be  found  among  any 
other  class  of  men.  It  has  been  truly  observed, 
that  the  perfect  liberality  of  our  institutions,  both 
national  and  social,  and  the  freedom  of  access  to 
every  situation  in  life,  to  the  humblest  individual, 
have  produced  among  us  a  universal  spirit  of  ambi 
tion,  which  brings  forward  the  talents  of  all  to  the 
public  service. 

The  paternal  ancestor  of  Barent  P.  Staats,  was 
Dr.  Abraham  Staats,  who  came  from  Holland  to  the 
city  of  Albany,  New  York,  in  the  year  1642,  and 
who,  two  years  after  his  arrival,  was  appointed 
chairman  of  the  council.  The  subject  of  this 
notice,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Schodack,  Rens- 
selaer  county,  New  York,  on  the  25th  of  Sep- 


164  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

tember,  1796.  His  father,  Col.  Philip  Staats,  was  a 
brave  officer  of  the  revolution. 

Barent,  who  at  a  very  early  age,  manifested  a 
great  love  of  reading,  received  his  academical  edu 
cation  at  Stuy  vesant,  Columbia  county,  New  York, 
under  the  care  of  John  Freeze.  He  afterwards 
studied  medicine  and  surgery  in  the  office  of  Dr. 
Joel  A.  Wing,  of  Albany,  and  at  the  Medical  insti 
tute  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

Among  the  numerous  offices  of  honor  and  trust 
which  he  has  held,  are  the  following:  President  of 
the  Albany  County  Medical  society,three  years;  dele 
gate  and  censor  of  the  State  Medical  society,  four 
years;  health  officer  of  the  city  of  Albany,  ten  years; 
physician  to  the  almshouse,  five  years;  supervisor, 
eight  years;  alderman,  three  years;  loan  officer, 
eight  years;  president  of  the  Albany  County  Mutual 
Insurance  company,  eleven  years;  director  of  the 
City  bank,  five  years;  he  has  been  also  a  memler 
of  the  legislature,  and  mayor  of  the  city  of  Albany. 
While  in  the  legislature,  so  zealously  were  his  du 
ties  performed,  that  he  was  never  absent  during  a 
single  vote.  O  that  others  would  follow  his  exam 
ple. 

At  his  election  as  mayor,  in  1842,  owing  to  his 
great  personal  popularity,  he  received  an  unprece 
dented  majority  of  six  hundred  votes,  over  one  of 
the  best  and  strongest  candidates  of  the  whig  party. 
During  that  year,  the  common  council  held  thirty 
regular  and  thirty-one  special  meetings,  from  all  of 
which  he  was  never  absent  for  one  moment. 

Having  always  been  an  active  and  warm  friend 
to  the  temperance  cause,  he  has  for  many  years 
served  on  the  executive  committee  of  the  New  York 
State  Temperance  society.  He  is,  it  is  believed, 
the  only  mayor  in  the  state  who  refused  to  license 
grocers  to  sell  ardent  spirits,  and  his  firmness  in  this 
respect  will  not  soon  be  forgotten  by  the  friends  of 
the  cause. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  165 

This  one  act  has  raised  him  in  the  estimation  of 
all  good  men,  to  a  greater  elevation  than  can  ever 
be  attained  by  courting  popular  favor,  and  prostitut 
ing  the  influence  of  office,  for  the  purpose  of  secur 
ing  a  reelection.  Dr.  Staats  is  one  of  those  who 
remember  that  we  live  in  a  social  world,  in  which 
we  are  not  isolated  beings,  but  are  bound  to  each 
other  by  the  most  tender  and  endearing  ties — that 
we  are  treading  amid  the  most  solemn  relations — 
that  the  thoughts  we  utter,  the  actions  we  do,  are 
not  like  the  waves,  which  leave  no  ripple-mark  be 
hind  them,  but  possess  a  most  energetic  vitality, 
and  live,  either  for  good  or  evil,  when  the  tongue 
is  mute,  and  the  hand  is  still. 

His  inaugural  address,  to  the  common  council  of 
the  city  of  Albany,  on  the  subject  of  licensing  gro 
cers,  is  a  masterly  production,  and  well  worthy  of 
perusal. 

To  him  the  city  of  Albany  is  indebted  for  many 
of  its  best  improvements;  and  no  one  has  done  more 
to  assist  the  young  and  enterprising  than  he.  In 
him  the  sick  and  the  needy,  the  poor  and  the  op 
pressed,  have  ever  found  a  ready  helper. 

He  married  in  1819,  at  the  age  of  twenty- three; 
and  has  two  daughters,  of  whom  he  has  reason  to 
be  proud.  His  manners  are  affable,  and  his  per 
sonal  appearance  extremely  prepossessing.  He  is  a 
close  reasoner,  and  a  good  debater.  His  character 
as  a  physician  is  too  well  known  to  require  com 
ment. 


166  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


THOMAS  PRENTICE  KETTELL. 

This  talented  writer  is  a  descendant  of  one  of  the 
oldest  families  in  Massachusetts.  It  is  not  ascer 
tained,  with  certainty,  that  either  of  the  pilgrims 
who  landed  at  Plymouth  bore  the  name,  but  it  ap 
pears  from  the  books  of  the  church  of  Charlestown, 
a  history  of  which  has  recently  been  published  by 
the  Hon.  Mr.  Buddington,  that  Reuben  Kettell  be 
came  a  member  in  1635,  fifteen  years  after  the  land 
ing,  and  the  name  constantly  recurs,  as  among  new 
members,  down  to  late  dates.  The  paternal  great 
grandfather  of  Mr.  Kettell,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Pren 
tice,  whose  name  he  bears,  graduated  in  1725 ;  and 
a  few  years  afterwards  was  settled  at  York,  in  the 
state  of  Maine,  when  he  was  soon  afterward  trans 
ferred  to  the  church  at  Charlestown.  He  continued 
his  pastoral  duties  at  that  place,  until  the  edifice 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  hill. 
After  that  event,  and  at  a  very  advanced  age,  he 
preached  in  a  log  hut,  built  on  the  site  of  the  church. 

Rebecca,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  venerable 
pastor,  married  Deacon  Joseph  Kettell,  who  settled 
in  Boston,  where  his  sons,  Thomas  Preston  and  John 
Kettell,  became  eminent.  Thomas  married  Miss 
Hannah  Davis,  who  acquired  some  reputation  as  a 
poetess,  under  the  signature  of  Juliana.  She  was  a 
granddaughter  of  Col.  Davis,  for  a  long  period  head 
of  the  selectmen  of  Boston,  and  judge  of  the  supreme 
court.  A  niece  of  Mr.  Kettell  married  a  son  of  the 
late  William  Gray,  whose  world-wide  fame  as  an 
eminent  and  successful  merchant,  has  reflected 
great  credit  on  the  Bay  state.  Her  uncle,  Hardy 
Pierce,  was  aid-de-camp  to  Gen.  Gates,  and  was 
killed  at  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  born  in  Boston, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  167 

in  1811.  He  was  the  second  son  of  Thomas  Pren 
tice  Kettell.  After  receiving  a  mercantile  education 
in  the  store  of  J.  &  E.  Phillips,  sons  of  Lieut.-Gov. 
William  Phillips,  he  travelled  some  years  in  Europe; 
but  meeting  with  ill  success  in  commercial  pursuits, 
he  returned  to  the  United  States,  and  adopted  New 
York  as  his  home.  Here  circumstances  brought 
him  into  connexion  with  the  press,  at  a  time  when 
a  long  period  of  speculation  throughout  the  com 
mercial  world,  had  just  suffered  a  revulsion,  and 
when  an  over  wrought  banking  system  was  falling 
into  decay.  Bringing  the  experience  of  great  com 
mercial  connexions,  and  a  clear  judgment,  with 
much  financial  tact  to  bear  upon  the  nature  of  the 
case,  he  soon  earned  for  the  "  money  articles "  of 
the  Morning  Herald,  published  by  James  G.  Bennett, 
a  great  reputation,  both  at  home  and  in  foreign 
countries.  The  clearness  of  his  diction,  the  accu 
racy  of  his  views,  and  the  sagacity  of  his  remarks, 
fully  and  promptly  sustained  by  events  as  they 
transpired,  fixed  the  attention  of  the  commercial 
public,  and  rapidly  increased  the  circulation  of  the 
paper. 

The  interest  which  Mr.  Kettell  imparted  to  the 
subject  of  financial  reports,  caused  them  to  become 
an  essential  feature  of  every  daily  paper. 

In  1840,  his  connexion  with  the  Herald  having 
ceased,  Mr.  Kettell  started  the  Gazette,  a  daily  jour 
nal,  advocating  the  principles  of  free  trade,  of  which 
he  has  always  been  an  ardent  and  efficient  supporter. 
Difficulties,  however,  arising  with  the  publisher, 
amidst  its  dawning  prosperity,  the  paper  was  aban 
doned.  Mr.  Kettell  then  edited  the  Morning  News, 
until  he  took  charge  of  the  Democratic  Review,  of 
which  highly  popular  publication  he  is  at  present 
sole  editor. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  Kettell  is  prepos 
sessing.  His  height  is  about  five  feet  nine  inches. 
He  has  a  well-formed  intellectual  head.  His  fore- 


168  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

head  is  capacious.  He  is  more  of  a  political  econo 
mist  than  a  literary  man.  His  brother,  the  Rev.  G-. 
F.  Kettell,  is  pastor  of  the  Vesey  Street  church,  in 
New  York  city. 


AMOS  DEAN. 

This  gentleman  is  favorably  known  among  a 
large  portion  of  the  community,  as  the  principal 
originator  of  the  Young  Men's  association  at  Alba 
ny;  an  institution  which  embraces  in  its  circle,  the 
very  highest  order  of  talent.  He  is  the  son  of  Na 
thaniel  and  Rhoda  Dean.  His  father  was  born  at 
Hardwick,  Massachusetts,  in  April,  1767,  and  when 
about  twenty  years  of  age,  he  emigrated  to  Barnard, 
Vermont,  and  was  among  the  early  settlers  of  that 
town.  The^  maiden  name  of  his  mother  was  Rhoda 
Hammond.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Jabez  Ham 
mond,  and  was  born  at  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts, 
in  April,  1771.  About  seven  years  afterwards,  she 
removed  with  her  parents  to  Woodstock,  Vermont. 
She  is  the  direct  lineal  descendant,  in  the  fifth  ge 
neration,  from  Admiral  Penn,  whose  daughter  Eliza 
beth,  the  sister  of  Sir  William  Penn,  married  Wil 
liam  Hammond,  of  London,  England,  and  who,  after 
his  death,  in  1634,  removed  with  her  son  Benjamin 
to  Boston,  where  she  died  in  1(540. 

After  their  marriage  in  1801,  the  parents  of  Mr. 
Dean,  settled  on  a  small  farm,  in  an  obscure  part 
of  Barnard,  an  uneven,  hard-favored,  rocky  town 
ship,  being  in  a  primitive  region,  and  abounding  in 
all  its  peculiar  characteristics.  His  father  purchased 
the  farm,  then  covered  with  an  unbroken  forest,  for 
a  hundred  pounds  sterling.  By  his  own  efforts  he 
cleared  it,  and  in  due  time  realized  the  amount  of 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


169 


the  purchase  money.  This,  however,  required  the 
patient  industry  of  many  years  to  accomplish;  but 
what  will  not  singleness  of  aim,  unity  of  means, 
and  steadiness  of  purpose  effect  ? 

Amos,  who  was  the  eldest  son,  was  bom  on  the 
16th  of  January,  1803.  Born  and  nurtured  among 
the  mountain  evergreens,  which  still  continue  to 
overspread  so  great  a  portion  of  Vermont,  and  with 
no  early  school  facilities,  his  opportunities  for  men 
tal  culture,  were  of  the  most  slender  kind.  It  was 
his  good  fortune,  however,  to  be  blessed  with  a 
mother,  who  was  a  woman  of  superior  mind.  She 
had  been  a  school  mistress,  and  knew  that  children 
had  minds  as  well  as  bodies.  Hence  she  readily 
fostered  the  strong  inclination,  which  her  son  mani 
fested  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  Although 
her  time  was  necessarily  occupied  by  her  industrial 
pursuits,  she  was  nevertheless  his  first  and  best  in 
structress. 

An  attendance  upon  a  district  school  of  some 
three  months,  during  about  five  successive  winters, 
enabled  him  to  acquire  the  rudiments  of  a  common 
education.  He  also  had  access  to  an  old  town  li 
brary,  consisting  mostly  of  theological  works,  and 
some  books  of  travels  and  historical  works.  Ar 
dently  loving  knowledge  for  its  own  sake,  he  thus 
acquired  an  early  taste  for  historical  reading.  In 
his  eighteenth  year,  while  laboring  upon  the  farm, 
he  managed  to  acquire  a  respectable  stock  of  Greek 
and  Latin.  He  also  taught  school  during  the  fol 
lowing  winter  months,  the  avails  of  which  he  was 
suffered  to  retain.  These  small  means  enabled  him 
to  spend  a  few  months  at  the  academy  in  Randolph, 
Vermont,  the  only  institution  of  the  kind  he  ever 
attended. 

In  the  autumn  of  1825,   Mr.  Dean  entered  the 

senior  class  in  Union  college,    having  previously 

bought  of  his  father  his  twenty-first  year,   to  the 

services  of  which  the  latter  was  legally  entitled. 

22 


170  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

The  consideration  was,  a  release  to  the  father,  of  all 
claim  the  son  might  ever  have  to  the  property  as 
heir  at  law,  one  of  the  first  and  best  bargains  he 
ever  made.  Having  graduated  in  July,  1826,  Mr. 
Dean  returned  to  his  native  town.  In  the  fall  of 
that  year,  he  accepted  the  invitation  of  his  maternal 
uncle,  the  Hon.  Jabez  D.  Hammond,  (author  of  the 
Political  History  of  New  York,)  to  remove  to  Alba 
ny,  and  to  enter  the  office  of  the  latter,  as  a  student 
at  law.  Mr.  Dean  has  frequently  remarked,  that 
had  it  not  been  for  the  substantial  aid  and  encou 
ragement  of  this  relative,  he  could  not  have  perse 
vered  through  the  trials  and  difficulties,  with  which 
he  had  to  contend. 

In  the  May  term  of  1829,  Mr.  Dean  was  admitted 
as  an  attorney  in  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  of 
New  York.  Ever  since  that  period  he  has  con 
tinued  in  the  successful  practice  of  his  profession 
at  Albany. 

In  April,  1833,  Mr.  Dean  delivered  the  annual 
address  before  the  Albany  Institute.  The  subject 
was  the  Phijosophy  of  History..  The  address  was 
printed,  and  extensively  copied  by  the  press.  It 
was  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  that  his  attention  was 
drawn  to  the  principle  of  association,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  social,  moral,  and  intellectual  improvement; 
and  with  the  aid  of  a  few  others,  he  succeeded  in 
getting  up,  and  establishing  upon  a  permanent  foot 
ing,  the  Young  Men's  association  for  mutual  im 
provement,  in  the  city  of  Albany.  This  is  justly 
claimed  to  be  the  first  institution  of  the  kind,  that 
ever  existed  in  this  country.  Of  the  fruits  which  it 
has  already  borne,  and  of  the  many  prominent  public 
men,  who,  but  for  its  beneficial  influence,  would 
have  remained  in  obscurity,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
speak. 

Mr.  Dean  was  its  first  president,  and  reflected 
for  a  second  term.  The  institution  has  been  incor 
porated,  and  is  in  a  very  flourishing  condition. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  171 

and  associations  of  a  similar  character  are  now  in 
operation  in  nearly  all  the  cities  and  villages  of  the 
state. 

In  1840,  Mr.  Dean  presided  at  a  convention  of 
Young  Men's  associations  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
held  at  Utica.  The  result  was,  an  organization  of 
the  whole  into  a  state  association,  of  which  Mr. 
Dean  was  elected  president,  and  he  delivered  the 
first  annual  address. 

Some  years  since,  Mr.  Dean  delivered  before  the 
Albany  association,  a  very  interesting  course  of  lec 
tures,  on  the  subject  of  phrenology.  The  lectures 
were  published,  and  furnished  an  ample  theme  for 
discussion,  among  that  class  who  are  apt  to  con 
demn  every  thing  that  is  new.  '  In  1839,  he  had 
published  in  Boston,  the  Philosophy  of  Human  Life, 
being  an  investigation  of  the  great  elements  of  life. 
This  was  a  very  elaborate  work,  but  adapted  to  a 
class  of  readers  and  thinkers,  not  very  numerous  in 
this  country.  He  also  published  a  very  valuable 
practical  work,  entitled  a  Manual  of  Law,  for  the 
use  of  busijiess  men. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  1840,  Mr.  Dean  delivered 
before  the  State  Agricultural  society,  a  eulogy  on 
the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  late  Jesse  Buel,  and 
which  was  afterwards  printed  by  the  society.  In 
July,  1840,  he  delivered  the  first  annual  address  be 
fore  the  senate  of  Union  college. 

In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1838  and  1839,  he  was 
instrumental,  with  some  others,  in  establishing  the 
Albany  Medical  college.  At  the  commencement  of 
that  institution,  Mr.  Dean  received  the  appointment 
of  professor  of  medical  jurisprudence,  a  department 
in  which  he  has  continued  to  lecture  at  every  term 
since  its  organization.  In  1840,  Prof.  Dean  pub 
lished  a  Manual  of  Medical  Jurisprudence,  designed 
solely  for  the  use  of  the  classes  attending  his  lec 
tures. 

On  the  14th  of  September,  1*42,  Prof.  Dean  was 


172  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

united  in  marriage  with  Miss  E.  Joana  Davis,  of 
Uxbridge,  Massachusetts.  How  needful  is  the  smile 
of  woman  to  gild  the  laurels  of  the  brave,  and  to 
cheer  the  labors  of  the  wise ! 


SILAS  WEIGHT. 

It  has  been  truly  observed,  that  honor  and  fame 
are  the  legitimate  reward  of  virtue  and  talent;  and 
that  beneficially  placed  within  the  reach  of  all,  they 
appear  like  trophies,  to  be  won  and  worn,  by  those 
who  successfully  contend  against  indolence  and 
vice.  An  attestation  of  this  truth  will  be  found  in 
our  brief  sketch  of  the  late  Silas  Wright. 

He  was  born  at  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  on  the 
24th  of  May,  1795.  In  1815,  he  graduated  at  Mid- 
dlebury  college,  Vermont.  In  1819,  he  was  licensed 
to  practice  law  in  the  supreme  court  of  the  state  of 
New  York.  He  then  removed  to  Canton,  St.  Law 
rence  county,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his 
death.  At  that  time  the  village  was  new,  and  the 
business  in  the  courts  very  limited  and  unprofitable. 
A  client  was  almost  as  rare  as  snow  in  harvest,  and 
the  fees  were  not  by  any  means  of  such  a  character 
as  to  cause  the  farmers  to  envy  the  lawyers.  All 
his  father  was  able  to  advance  him,  was  $200,  one- 
half  of  which  Silas  expended  in  the  purchase  of  a 
few  books,  while  the  other  half  was  reserved  to 
meet  his  more  immediate  necessities.  "We  can 
easily  imagine,"  says  the  Democratic  Review,  "how 
forlorn  must  have  been  the  condition  of  young 
Wright,  in  this,  the  commencement  of  his  profes 
sional  career,  without  property,  or  any  relations  or 
friends  near  him,  and  surrounded  by  strangers,  and 
when  he  saw  that  he  must  rely  solely  on  his  own 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  173 

efforts  and  merits  to  sustain  himself.  Yet  we  do 
not  doubt,  could  the  truth  be  known,  that  in  this 
trying  crisis,  he  found  precious  consolation  in  the 
conviction,  that  he  must  rise  by  the  force  of  his 
abilities  to  distinction.  It  is  this  early  suffering  and 
training,  that  prepares  men  of  great  talents  to  make 
their  way  good  up  the  steep  and  rugged  ascents  of 
fame." 

Finding  that  his  small  means  were  rapidly  wast 
ing  away,  he  accepted  the  office  of  village  post 
master,  which  brought  him  nearly  two  dollars  per 
week.  This  small  sum  served  to  pay  his  board, 
and  to  "keep  the  wolf  from  the  door,"  so  that  he 
took  heart,  seeing  as  it  were  a  faint  streak  of  the 
coming  sunlight  gradually  breaking  upon  him. 

Shortly  afterwards,  charmed  by  his  winning  man 
ner,  and  social  qualities,  his  fellow  citizens  elected 
him  a  militia  officer ;  and  it  may  be  easily  imagined 
from  his  well  known  disposition,  that  he  was  never 
asked  "to  resign." 

In  January,  1824,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  state 
senate,  and  in  1827,  he  was  elected  to  congress.  In 
1829,  while  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  at  Wash 
ington,  he  received  the  appointment  of  comptroller 
of  New  York,  which  office  he  held  for  three  years. 
In  1832,  he  was  again  elected  to  congress.  In  this 
year,  owing  to  the  election  of  Wm.  L.  Marcy,  as  go 
vernor,  Mr.  Wright  was  elected  to  succeed  him  in 
the  senate.  His  term  expired  in  March,  1837,  but 
on  the  first  term  of  the  preceding  February,  he  was 
reflected  for  the  constitutional  period  of  six  years. 

After  the  close  of  the  twenty-seventh  congress, 
the  forlorn  young  village  post-master,  who  rejoiced 
at  his  two  dollars  per  week,  became  governor  of  the 
state  of  New  York. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1847,  he  retired  to  private 
life,  in  the  village  of  Canton,  where  he  resided  in 
his  small  wooden  house,  until  the  evening  of  the 
27th  of  August,  when  he  was  suddenly  called  to 


174  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

that  "  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens." 

Now  that  he  is  gathered  to  his  fathers,  and  the 
bitterness  of  party  spirit  is  lost  in  the  grave,  all  are 
willing  to  acknowledge  his  merits  and  patriotism. 
From  his  tomb  fresh  laurels  will  spring  up,  and 
mingle  their  odor  with  the  evergreens  of  enduring 
fame. 


FREEMAN  HUNT. 

This  self-made  man,  who,  through  his  popular  ma 
gazine,  is  known  in  every  part  of  the  world,  is  a  na 
tive  of  Quincy,  Massachusetts.  He  was  born  on 
the  21st  of  March,  1804.  He  is  one  of  those  who 
attach  no  great  importance  to  ancestors,  only  so  far 
as  their  virtues  may  be  inherited.  On  his  mother's 
side  were  the  Turners  and  Stetsons,  who  left  Eng 
land  in  1630,  and  settled  at  Scituate,  near  Ply 
mouth,  Massachusetts.  His  father,  Nathan  Hunt, 
was  a  shipmaster,  and  died  when  Freeman  was 
only  three  years  of  age.  The  latter  chose  the  print 
ing  business,  as  being  the  best  adapted  to  the  ac 
quisition  of  knowledge  that  his  circumstances,  and 
those  of  his  mother,  would  permit.  During  his 
minority,  he  had  a  good  deal  of  up-hill  work  to  per 
form,  and  experienced  not  a  little  of  the  rough  and 
tumble  of  the  world.  But  his  motto  has  always 
been — "  Hope  on,  forever" — and  through  Provi 
dence,  which  ever  provides  for  those  who  provide 
for  themselves,  he  is  now  in  very  easy  circum 
stances.  He  has  no  debts,  although  he  has  paid 
not  a  few  for  others,  and  he  has  enough  of  this 
world's  goods  to  make  him  and  his  comfortable. 
His  ideas  of  enough,  however,  are  not  quite  so  ex- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  175 

travagant  as  some  of  his  fellow  citizens,  who  by 
their  actions,  do  not  appear  to  be  aware  that  there 
is  such  a  word  in  the  language,  and  he  is  ever  ready 
to  share  a  dollar  with  those  who  need  it  more  than 
himself. 

Our  grave  subject,  facetiously  says  the  New  York 
Evening  Mirror,  is  a  cross  between  an  author  and  a 
merchant;  he  has  not  the  carelessness  of  the  one, 
nor  the  primness  of  the  other,  but  a  mixture  of  the 
two.  He  is  the  proprietor  and  editor  of  that  unique 
periodical,  the  Merchants'  Magazine. 

Like  Yankee  boys  in  general,  he  picked  up  the 
rudiments  of  an  English  education  at  a  country 
school,  and  was  apprenticed  to  a  Boston  printer  at 
the  age  of  fourteen.  A  printer's  trade,  a  common 
education,  and  a  brave  heart,  have  formed  the  sole 
capital  of  many  a  great  man  in  the  republic.  Free 
man  Hunt,  like  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  many  a 
true  man  besides,  with  these  simple  elements,  has 
achieved  a  position  in  the  world,  and  kept  his  honor 
untarnished.  No  sooner  was  he  out  of  his  time, 
than  he  began  to  think  of  establishing  himself 
in  the  world ;  and  instead  of  squatting  upon 
soil  which  another  man  had  cleared,  with  the  true 
energy  of  a  Yankee,  he  looked  about  him  for  a  spot 
which  no  man  had  yet  improved — a  no-man's  land 
— that  he  could  claim  for  his  own  by  right  of  prior 
discovery.  At  that  time  there  was  not  one  of  those, 
now  numerous  publications,  called  ladies'  maga 
zines  ;  and  with  a  true  insight  into  the  wants  of  the 
reading  public,  he  projected  a  periodical  similar  to 
the  Lady's  Book,  which,  we  believe,  he  called  the 
Lady's  Magazine.  Mrs.  Sarah  J.  Hale  was  just  at 
tracting  notice  by  her  first  novel,  and  Mr.  Hunt 
purchased  the  use  of  her  name  as  editress.  The 
magazine  succeeded,  but  did  not  satisfy  the  ambi 
tion  of  the  proprietor.  He  sold  out,  and  began  the 
republication  of  the  Penny  Magazine,  which  reach 
ed  a  sale  of  5000  numbers.  This  work  he  soon 


176  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

abandoned,  and  the  Berwick  company  being  got  up 
by  an  association  of  authors,  artists,  printers  and 
bookbinders,  whose  object  was  the  publication  of 
their  own  works,  he  took  charge  of  it.  Mr.  Hunt 
was  the  managing  director,  and  displayed  wonder 
ful  talents  at  financiering,  for  as  the  association  had 
nothing  but  talents  and  genius,  it  required  no  ordi 
nary  degree  of  financial  skill  to  exchange  their  pro 
ducts  for  grosser  materials,  without  which  they 
could  do  nothing. 

While  in  the  management  of  this  company,  he 
projected  the  American  Magazine  of  Useful  and 
Literary  Knowledge,  and  conducted  its  editorial  de 
partment  while  he  remained  with  the  company, 
which  was  dissolved  soon  after  he  left  it. 

He  then  got  up  two  volumes  of  American  Anec 
dotes,  which  were  highly  successful,  and  have  form 
ed  a  magazine  of  wealth  for  succeeding  book  mak 
ers;  then,  the  American  Pulpit,  an  episcopalian 
periodical. 

In  1831,  he  removed  to  New  York,  and  establish 
ed  a  weekly  newspaper,  called  The  Traveler.  In 
1834,  he  published  a  Comprehensive  Atlas,  which 
was  very  successful.  Afterwards  he  wrote  letters 
to  some  of  the  Boston  papers,  and  published  a  popu 
lar  work  called  Letters  about  the  Hudson,  which 
passed  through  three  editions. 

His  next  enterprise  was  the  Merchants'  Magazine, 
a  work  entirely  original  in  its  plan,  and  which  was 
successful  from  its  start.  By  his  singular  tact,  good 
management  and  industry,  he  has  built  up  a  work 
on  a  plan  which  is  so  obviously  right  now,  that  peo 
ple  wonder  it  was  never  done  before. 

The  success  of  Mr.  Hunt  is  a  remarkable  instance 
of  what  may  be  accomplished  by  patient  persever 
ance,  and  honorable  conduct;  and  his  example 
should  serve  to  stimulate  the  exertions  of  the  thou 
sands  of  young  men  who  are  daily  launched  upon 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


177 


the  world  to  seek  their  fortunes,  with  no  other  capi 
tal  than  their  strong  arms  and  honest  hearts. 

We  believe  that  Mr.  Hunt  has  never  taken  an  ac 
tive  part  in  partizan  politics;  he  has,  however, been 
a  firm  and  consistent  advocate  of  free  trade  since 
the  commencement  of  his  magazine,  and  is  one  of 
the  sound  writers  on  political  economy  which  this 
country  has  produced. 

Mr.  Willis,  in  particular,  has  made  him  the  sub 
ject  of  repeated  comment.  He  says,  in  the  Mirror: 

Hunt  has  been  glorified  in  the  Hong-Kong  Ga 
zette,  is  regularly  complimented  by  the  English 
mercantile  authorities,  has  every  bank  in  the  world 
for  an  eager  subscriber,  every  consul,  every  ship 
owner  and  navigator;  is  filed  away  as  authority  in 
every  library,  and  thought  of  in  half  the  countries 
of  the  world,  as  early  as  No.  3,  in  their  enumeration 
of  distinguished  Americans — yet  who  seeks  to  do 
him  honor,  in  the  city  he  does  honor  to  ?  The  Mer 
chants'  Magazine,  though  a  prodigy  of  perseverance 
and  industry,  is  not  an  accidental  development  of 
Hunt's  energies.  He  has  always  been  singularly 
sagacious  and  original  in  devising  new  works  and 
good  ones.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  first  ladies' 
magazine;  of  the  first  children's  periodical;  he 
started  the  American  Magazine  of  Useful  and  En 
tertaining  Knowledge;  compiled  the  best  known 
collection  of  American  anecdotes ;  and  is  an  inde 
fatigable  writer— the  author,  among  other  things, 
of  Letters  about  the  Hudson. 

Hunt  was  a  playfellow  of  ours,  in  round-jacket 
days,  and  we  have  always  looked  at  him  with  a 
reminiscent  interest.  His  luminous,  eager  eyes, 
as  he  goes  along  the  street,  eagerly  bent  on  his'  er 
rand,  would  impress  any  observer  with  an  idea  of 
his  genius  and  determination,  and  we  think  it  quite 
time  his  earnest  head  was  in  the  engraver's  hand, 
and  his  daily  passing  by,  a  mark,  for  the  digito  mon- 
23 


178  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

strf'-n.  Few  more  worthy  or  more  valuable  citizens 
are  among  us. 

He  is  earnest,  eager,  combining  in  a  very  singu 
lar  manner,  general  coolness  and  occasional  excit 
ability.  He  is  a  true  friend,  and  the  enemy  of  no 
man.  His  heart  is  full  of  the  warmest  sympathies 
and  charities.  No  one  in  New  York  is  more  uni 
versally  popular.  And  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that 
in  striving  to  build  himself  up,  Mr.  Hunt  has  never 
endeavored  to  pull  others  down.  His  doctrine  is, 
"  Live  and  let  live." 

He  is  about  five  feet  eight  inches  in  height,  well 
proportioned;  complexion  light  florid;  forehead 
capacious;  chin  massive  and  projecting,  indicative 
(according  to  Lavater,  and  general  experience)  of 
that  energy  which  is,  in  fact,  the  chief  point  of  his 
character;  hair  light  brown,  very  fine,  of  a  web-like 
texture,  worn  long,  and  floating  about  the  face; 
eyes  of  wonderful  brilliancy,  and  intensity  of  ex 
pression;  the  whole  countenance  beaming  with 
sensibility  and  intelligence. 

He  is  married,  and  nearly  forty-four  years  of 
age. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  179 


SAMUEL  FINLEY  BREEZE  MORSE. 

"  Franklin  drew  the  lightning  from  heaven,  but 
Morse  gave  it  a  voice,"  was  the  eloquent  remark  of 
one,  who  with  others,  gloried  in  claiming  this  cele 
brated  professor  as  an  American,  whose  name  shall 
go  down  to  posterity,  as  the  founder  of  a  new  era  in 
the  transmission  of  intelligence.  And  truly,  when 
the  nations  shall  converse  across  their  oceans,  and 
the  winged  words  shall  fly  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
uniting  the  whole  human  race  in  a  circle  of  know 
ledge,  conveyed  in  "one  language  and  one  speech," 
then  shall  the  name  of  Morse  be  recorded,  when 
those  of  heroes  and  emperors  shall  have  been  lost 
in  the  vortex  of  revolutions. 

Prof.  Morse  was  born  on  the  27th  day  of  Septem 
ber,  1791,  at  Bunker  Hill,  Charlestown,  Massachu 
setts — the  great  battle-ground,  famous  forever  in 
the  annals  of  our  country.  He  is  the  son  of  the  late 
Jedediah  Morse,  the  father  of  American  geography, 
and  the  great-grandson  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Fin- 
ley,  president  of  Princeton  college,  New  Jersey.  He 
was  educated  at  Yale  college,  where  he  graduated 
in  1810. 

In  the  following  year  he  went  to  London,  to  cul 
tivate  a  taste  which  he  had  acquired  for  the  fine 
arts.  He  resided  there  for  four  years,  and  was  a 
pupil  of  those  distinguished  masters,  Washington 
Allston  and  Benjamin  West.  During  this  period, 
he  produced  many  choice  paintings,  and  received  a 
gold  medal  for  the  best  specimen  of  sculpture.  The 
subject  was,  the  Dying  Hercules.  This  was  his 
first  effort  in  sculpture.  At  the  same  time,  he  had 
several  paintings  in  the  Royal  exhibition. 

In  1815,  Mr.  Morse  returned  to  his  native  coun 
try,  and  occupied  his  time  for  seven  or  eight  years, 


180  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

chiefly  at  the  south,  as  a  portrait  painter.  But 
higher  honors  awaited  him.  In  1824,  or  1825,  he 
was  the  prime  mover  and  getter-up  of  the  Na 
tional  Academy  of  Design,  of  which  we  have  just 
reason  to  be  proud. 

In  1829,  the  subject  of  our  sketch  again  visited 
the  old  world,  and  remained  in  Italy  and  France, 
pursuing  his  studies  in  the  fine  arts,  until  1832. 
During  a  considerable  portion  of  this  time,  he  re 
sided  in  Rome,  Florence  and  Venice.  He  returned 
from  Havre  to  America,  in  the  packet-ship  Sully, 
and  on  his  passage  his  active  mind  conceived  the 
idea  of  the  electro-magnetic  telegraph. 

All  the  telegraphs  in  Europe,  which  are  practica 
ble,  are  based  on  a  different  principle,  and,  without 
an  exception,  were  invented  subsequently  to  his. 
Says  Prof.  Morse,  in  a  letter  to  Stephen  Vail,  Esq. : 

"The  thought  occurred  to  me  in  general  conver 
sation  with  the  passengers.  I  ought  perhaps  to 
say,  that  the  conception  of  the  idea  of  an  electric 
telegraph,  was  original  with  me  at  the  time,  and  I 
suppose  that  I  was  the  first  that  ever  associated  the 
two  ideas  together.  Nor  was  it  until  my  invention 
was  completed,  and  had  been  successfully  operated 
through  ten  miles,  that  I,  for  the  first  time,  learned 
that  the  idea  of  an  electric  telegraph  had  been  con 
ceived  by  another.  To  me,  it  was  original,  and  its 
total  dissimilarity  to  all  the  inventions,  and  even 
the  suggestions  from  others,  may  be  thus  account 
ed-  for.  I  had  not  the  remotest  hint  from  others, 
till  my  whole  invention  was  in  successful  opera 
tion." 

The  claims  of  Prof.  Morse  are  now  universally 
acknowledged,  and  at  a  very  recent  meeting  of  the 
British  Association  for  the  Promotion  of  Science,  Sir 
Robert  Inglis,  the  president  elect,  admitted  that  to 
the  United  States  belongs  the  honor  of  having  first 
successfully  introduced  the  electric  telegraph. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Prof.  Morse  bespeak? 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  181 

the  philosopher.  He  is  tall  and  slender,  has  an  in 
tellectual  forehead,  and  the  snows  of  time  have 
slightly  sprinkled  his  hair.  A  more  unassuming 
man  cannot  be  found ;  and,  had  it  not  been  for  his 
extreme  modesty,  congress  would  have  employed 
him  to  construct  the  first  experimental  line,  between 
"Washington  and  Baltimore,  at  a  much  earlier  pe 
riod  than  they  did. 

He  is  not  a  man  of  ordinary  mould,  for  were  we 
to  deprive  him  of  his  imperishable  honors  as  the 
discoverer  of  the  telegraph,  we  must,  as  an  artist, 
still  place  him  high  on  the  pedestal  of  fame. 


GRANT  THORBURN, 

Upon  the  incidents  of  whose  eventful  life,  Mr. 
Gait  founded  his  immortal  story  of  "Lawrie 
Todd,"  is  still  living,  at  Astoria,  Long  Island.  He 
landed  at  New  York  on  the  16th  of  June,  1794,with 
only  three  cents  in  his  pocket.  His  trade  was  that 
of  a  wrought  nail  maker.  At  that  time,  cut  nails 
were  not  manufactured  in  the  United  States.  "  In 
a  few  years,  however,"  says  he,  in  a  letter  to  a 
friend,  "  the  cut  nails  cut  me  out  of  employment.  I 
then  for  some  years  kept  a  retail  grocery;  but  a 
friend,  having  a  heavier  purse,  and  more  knowledge 
of  the  business,  commenced  the  same  trade  beside 
me,  and  cut  me  out  of  that  also.  I  then  painted 
the  common  earthen-ware  flower  pots  with  green 
varnish.  This  was  in  1799.  The  pot  painting  soon 
became  a  thriving  business.  One  day  in  April, 
1800,  I  for  the  first  time  observed  a  man  selling 
plants  at  the  Old  Fly  market,  at  the  foot  of  Maiden 
lane.  In  passing  in  a  careless  manner,  I  took  a 
leaf  from  a  plant,  and  was  surprised  to  find  a  green 


182  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

leaf  smell  like  a  rose-bud.  I  asked  its  name.  The 
owner  replied,  '  a  rose  geranium.'  It  was  the  first 
time  I  had  heard  the  word  pronounced — the  first 
time  that  I  knew  there  was  a  geranium  in  the 
world.  By  means  of  this  plant,  Providence  led  me 
by  a  way  I  knew  not,  into  the  seed  business.  It 
was  a  fine,  healthy  plant,  and  thinks  I  to  myself,  it 
will  look  well  in  one  of  my  green  varnished  pots,  to 
stand  on  my  counter  and  draw  attention.  I  had  no 
intention  to  sell  it.  Next  day,  however,  some  per 
son  purchased  both  plant  and  pot — and  I  cleared 
twenty-five  cents  by  the  speculation.  On  the  fol 
lowing  market  day,  I  purchased  two  plants,  put 
them  into  green  pots  and  sold  them.  In  a  few 
weeks  rny  stock  of  plants  numbered  two  dozen.  I 
erected  a  stage  inside  the  door  facing  the  street,  and 
they  made  quite  an  imposing  appearance.  It  drew 
attention.  It  was  something  new  under  the  sun— 
a  man  selling  plants  in  a  store.  Our  citizens,  when 
showing  their  country  friends  the  wonders  of  our 
wonderful  city,  would  pilot  them  at  times  to  see 
my  plants.  Certain  ones  among  them,  would  very 
much  wish  to  take  home  with  them,  '  this  rose/ 
*  that  geranium,'  or  *  the  beautiful  myrtle  by  its 
side' — but  after  getting  to  the  landing,  they  had 
forty  miles  land  carriage,  and  it  would  get  broke  in 
the  wagon.  Then  they  would  ask  for  the  seed  of 
the  plant.  On  other  occasions,  they  would  ask  for 
radish,  cabbage,  or  any  other  vegetable  seed  they 
thought  of.  These  inquiries  were  perhaps  made 
some  hundred  times,  before  the  idea  of  selling  seed 
entered  my  mind.  At  length,  thinks  I,  why  not 
sell  seeds  as  well  as  flowers?  Here  was  the  rub. 
No  one  saved  more  than  he  wanted  for  his  own 
use,  and  there  was  no  market  for  them.  Perhaps 
one  farmer  raised  too  much  beet,  so  he  would  ex 
change  with  him  who  raised  an  overplus  of  carrot 
seed,  etc. 

"By  this  time  I  and  my  friend  the  gardener,  from 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  183 

whom  I  obtained  the  plants  I  sold,  were  getting  to 
understand  one  another.  He  kept  his  plants,  etc., 
on  the  ground,  in  Brooklyn,  since  known  as  the 
military  garden.  I  consulted  him  in  the  matter, 
and,  says  he,  I  am  now  raising  seeds  to  sell  next 
spring  in  the  market,  along  with  my  plants,  but  if 
you  take  my  stock,  I  will  raise  seeds  and  plants  for 
you  to  sell.  I  accordingly  took  his  stock,  amount 
ing  to  fifteen  dollars.  This,  like  the  small  mustard 
seed,  has  since  filled  the  length  and  the  breadth  of 
the  land. 

1  Thus,  without  foresight,  or  plan  of  iny  own,  I 
worked  into  this  business.  The  cut  nails  made  me 
a  grocer.  Being  supplanted  in  the  grocery,  led  me 
to  painting.  The  painting  of  pots  induced  me  to 
purchase  a  plant  to  show  them  off.  Keeping  plants 
induced  people  to  ask  for  seeds !  The  cutting  ma 
chine,  and  being  supplanted,  I  thought  were  sore 
evils,  at  the  time ;  but  as  we  afterwards  see,  even  in 
this  life,  sore  evils  are  blessings  in  disguise." 

About  twelve  years  ago,  Mr.  Thorburn  published 
the  history  of  his  life,  in  a  work  entitled  Forty 
Years  Residence  in  America,  or  the  Doctrine  of  a 
Particular  Providence,  exemplified  in  the  Life  of 
Grant  Thorburn.  In  1834,  he  published,  Men  and 
Manners,  or  a  Bone  to  Knaw,  for  Trollope,  Fidler, 
etc.;  in  1845,  Fifty  Years  Reminiscences  of  New 
York,  a  Flower  from  the  Garden  of  Lawrie  Todd." 

The  following  extract  from  one  of  a  number 
of  communications  of  Mr.  Thorburn,  to  the  New 
York  Mirror,  in  1846,  cannot  but  be  interesting,  for 
its  originality  of  style  and  strong  common  sense : 

"  In  taking  a  retrospect  while  I  sat  in  my  door  in 
the  cool  of  the  (Jackson's  funeral)  day,  I  thought, 
were  I  to  live  my  life  over  again,  I  would  just  ma 
nage  my  treaty  of  peace  with  the  lasses  after  the 
same  mode  and  form  which  I  pursued  fifty  years 
ago ;  therefore,  my  young  friends,  I  will  just  de 
scribe  the  process,  and  say  unto  thee,  '  go  thou  and 


184  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

do  likewise."  When  I  emerged  from  the  hut 
wherein  I  first  drew  breath  (in  Scotland),  I  looked 
on  the  daughters  of  men,  and  saw  that  they  were 
fair;  I  resolved  that  as  soon  as  I  could  earn  one 
shilling  sterling  (twenty-two  cents)  per  day,  I  would 
enter  into  copartnership  for  life  with  one  of  those 
beautiful  articles.  What  God  makes  beautiful,  it 
is  for  man  to  admire.  Perceiving  by  statistical  ta 
bles,  that  the  God  of  nature  sent  about  the  same 
number  of  men  and  women  into  the  world,  I  there 
fore  thought  it  must  be  his  law,  that  every  man 
should  have  his  mate  at  once,  and  leave  conse 
quences  and  provisions  for  the  future  to  Him  who 
hangs  creation  on  His  arm,  and  feeds  her  at  his 
board.  It  is  fifty  years  since  I  ratified  that  treaty 
of  peace,  love,  and  amity,  and  never,  for  one  mo 
ment,  did  I  repent  it ;  nor  did  I  ever  lack  a  loaf  in 
the  pantry,  or  a  dollar  in  my  purse.  If  God  sent 
another  mouth,  he  always  sent  food  to  fill  it.  With 
regard  to  courtship — it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the 
world.  Love  is  the  language  of  nature — the  veriest 
fool,  if  he  can't  pronounce,  can  speak  it  with  his 
eyes,  and  women  are  nice  interpreters.  When 
first  thinking  of  these  important  affairs,  I  resolved 
never  to  spend  an  hour  in  the  private  conversation 
of  any  young  woman,  till  I  was  determined  on  tak 
ing  to  myself  a  wife — and  in  the  next  place,  never 
to  spend  an  hour  with  any,  except  she  was  the  one 
whom,  above  all  others  in  the  world,  I  wished  to 
make  a  wife.  On  this  principle  I  practised,  and  I 
prospered.  There  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  dang 
ling  after  a  sensible  woman  for  a  twelve-month, 
talking  unmeaning  stuff — words  without  know 
ledge.  You  mistake  the  sex,  if  you  expect  to  gain 
their  favor  by  this  means.  While  you  think  they 
are  laughing  at  your  small  wit,  they  are  smiling  at 
your  great  folly.  If  you  wish  to  gain  the  esteem  of 
a  sensible  woman,  (and  let  me  tell  you,  they  have 
more  wit,  in  general,  than  half  of  the  men,)  you 


If  God  sent  another  mouth,  he  alway  sent  food  to  fill  it.  p.  184 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  185 

must  speak  to  her  in  the  words  of  truth  and  sober 
ness.  After  three  or  four  sittings,  (as  the  portrait 
maker  says,)  tell  her  your  intentions  at  once,  like  a 
man,  not  like  a  blubbering  school  boy;  and  if  there 
is  seven  ounces  of  common  sense  in  your  carcass, 
she  will  be  yours  in  one  month;  and  if  you  behave 
like  a  man  of  sense  while  you  walk  together  by  the 
way,  the  honey-moon  will  never  wane,  but  grow 
brighter  and  brighter,  till  you  put  up  at  the  last  inn 
by  the  wayside — the  grave.  Having  now  got  mar 
ried,  devote  the  leisure  hours  to  nourish  and  cherish 
your  wife;  leave  politics,  whig  and  tory,  to  the  pure 
democracy,  they  will  make  as  many  presidents  for 
you,  gratis,  as  will  serve  for  a  life  time.  If  your 
circumstances  are  easy,  and  thou  art  fond  of  out 
door  amusements,  let  your  wife  be  your  constant 
companion — it  is  unkind,  unmanly,  and  unpolitic 
to  leave  her  moping  alone,  whilst  thou  art  abroad 
finding  thy  own  pleasures.  If  it  is  thy  lot  to  earn 
thy  bread  by  the  sweat  of  thy  brow,  when  the  labor 
of  the  day  is  past,  devote  the  evening  to  the  com 
pany  of  thy  wife;  if  there  are  no  extra  cares  to  pre 
vent,  walk  together  in  one  of  the  beautiful  parks, 
or  go  to  hear  a  lecture  (where  it  is  gratis) — thus  you 
will  learn  something,  and  make  a  long  evening 
seem  short.  If  thy  wife  is  engaged  in  repairing  thy 
garments,  or  smoothing  thy  linen,  then  sit  by  the  ta 
ble  (one  candle  will  serve  both)  and  read  to  her  the 
news  of  the  day,  or  some  useful  book ;  if  children 
are  to  be  cared  for,  stay  at  home  and  do  your  part ; 
if  one  is  fretful,  take  it  on  your  knees,  and  sing  to  it, 
'Auld  Lang  Syne;'  if  the  other  stirs  in  the  cradle, 
put  your  foot  on  the  rocker — this  will  lighten  the 
cares  of  your  partner,  and  bring  a  smile  on  the  face 
you  are  wont  to  admire — I  speak  from  fifty  years 
experience." 

That  portion  of  his  advice  to  a  husband,  when  a 
wife  begins  to  exhibit  symptoms  of  extravagance  in 
furniture,  etc.,  is  irresistible.     Says  he: 
24 


186  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

"Fly,  as  you  would  the  plague,  all  temptations 
to  purchase  plate.  Perhaps  your  wife  attends  a 
tea- water  company,  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Van  Pelt. 
Mr.  Van  Pelt  is  an  old  established,  thriving  trader. 
On  the  table  is  a  silver  tea-pot,  sugar-bowl,  and 
tongs.  You  go  to  see  your  wife  home — she  looks 
sad — and  on  the  way  she  never  opens  her  mouth. 
Having  got  home,  she  takes  her  stand  at  the  glass, 
while  untying  her  hat.  Her  late  pretty  face  is  now 
as  long  as  a  bean  pole.  She  looks  as  sober  as  a 
church-mouse — you  are  distressed  on  her  account 
—in  the  most  soothing  manner  possible,  you  inquire 
what  is  the  matter  with  your  dear  Maria?  She 
looks  as  if  she  had  lost  all  her  friends — for  one 
minute  she  won't  speak,  and,  perhaps,  she  begins 
to  cry.  Now,  be  cool,  take  it  easy,  and  acquit  thy 
self  like  a  man.  These  tears  are  the  grape-shot, 
which  the  ladies  always  carry  in  the  fountain  of 
their  sparkling  eyes — with  it  they  mow  down  their 
opponents  as  fast  as  did  the  invincibles  of  Bona 
parte  on  the  plains  of  Wagrani.  We  have  whole- 
hog,  half-alligator,  and  half-horse  men  in  Tennes 
see  and  Kentucky;  they  will  stand  before  Colt's 
six-barrel  revolving  pistols;  but  there  is  not  ten 
men  between  Plymouth  rock  and  the  shore  of  the 
Pacific  that  can  stand  the  shot  from  a  woman's  eye. 
As  I  advised  above,  keep  cool  for  a  space,  and  say 
nothing;  sit  on  a  chair  near  enough  to  be  heard; 
cover  your  face  with  sackcloth,  whimper,  and  cry 
a  little,  just  by  way  of  galvanic  sympathy.  As  soon 
as  she  hears  you  sigh,  her  tender  heart  will  relent, 
and  instantly  become  your  comforter.  Now,  you 
will  hear  that  all  this  muckle  adoe  about  ntfthing  was 
only  a  storm  in  a  tea-pot — this  hateful  tea-pot,  this 
sugar-bowl,  and  milk-pot.  '  I  am  sure,  Mr.  Snod- 
grass,  you  can  afford  me  a  silver  tea-pot  as  well  as 
Mr.  Van  Pelt  does  to  his  wife,'  &c.  Now,  another 
crystal  tear  is  rolling  across  her  pretty  eyes — don't 
look  on  them — you  will  be  shot  ;  for  her  sake,  for 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  187 

your  own  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  next  gene 
ration,  don't  give  up  the  ship;  draw  closer  your 
chair;  commence  a  mild  and  soothing  speech, 
sprinkled  now  and  then  with  some  of  the  elegant 
extracts,  metaphors  and  epithets,  with  which  you 
were  wont  to  address  your  Maria,  ten  days  before 
marriage.  Begin  the  exordium  as  follows — "  You 
know,  my  dear,  that  Mr.  Van  Pelt  has  been  long 
established  in  a  profitable  and  certain  business- 
has  made  a  fortune,  and  is  now  on  the  point  of  re 
tiring;  whereas,  we  are  only  beginning  with  a  small 
capital.  I  can't  conduct  my  business  without  bor 
rowing  money  from  the  banks — (bank  discounts.) 
When  I  borrow  $100  from  the  bank,  I  pay  $7  every 
year  interest.  Were  we  to  get  this  silver  tea-pot, 
milk-pot,  sugar-bowl,  and  tongs,  they  would  cost 
nearly,  or  may  be  over,  $300.  Now,  the  interest  on 
$300,  is  $21  per  annum.  This  would  buy  you  a 
good  summer  and  a  good  winter  hat,  and  a  thou 
sand  times  rather  would  I  look  on  your  pretty  face 
under  a  handsome  hat,  than  to  see  you  pouring  tea 
from  a  silver  tea-pot,  to  wet  the  mouths  of  some, 
who  might  go  home  and  laugh  at  what  they  would 
call  our  extravagance.'  I  believe  your  wife  is  a 
sensible  woman,  and  will  relent  at  once." 

Mr.  Thorburn  became  naturalized  while  Wash 
ington  was  President.  He  has  married  more  than 
once,  and  is  the  father  of  many  talented  and  fine 
grown  men  and  women.  His  height  is  only  four 
feet  ten  inches,  and  his  weight  not  more  than 
ninety-eight  pounds;  and  yet,  says  the  London 
Morning  Herald,  previous  to  his  emigration  to  New 
York,  he  beeame  an  object  of  dread  to  the  British 
government,  as  one  of  the  "  friends  of  the  people." 
He  is  now  in  his  75th  year,  and  in  the  enjoyment 
of  good  health. 


188  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


WASHINGTON  IRVING, 

Is  a  native  of  New  York  city.  He  was  born  in 
William  street,  near  the  old  Dutch  church,  on  the 
third  of  April,  1783.  Recent  writers  are  in  error  in 
supposing  that  the  house  is  still  standing.  It  was 
taken  down  many  years  ago,  and  upon  the  spot 
stands  a  large  brick  building.  Very  soon  after  his 
birth,  however,  his  parents  removed  to  the  house 
opposite,  No.  128  William  street,  next  door  to 
Samuel  Guilford,  Esq.,  who  has  lived  upon  the  spot 
for  more  than  seventy  years.  This  house,  occupied 
as  a  store,  is  still  standing.  His  father  and  mother 
were  natives  of  Scotland.  The  former  kept  a  store  in 
William  street  many  years,  and  was  a  man  of  high 
character  and  respectability,  although  not  of  a  lite 
rary  turn.  Mrs.  Irving  was  a  woman  of  fine  attain 
ments  and  great  energy.  They  had  five  sons  and 
one  daughter.  The  sons  received  the  best  educa 
tion  that  the  country  afforded,  and  were  all  pos 
sessed  of  superior  talents.  William,  the  eldest,  a 
merchant,  was  an  excellent  classical  scholar,  and 
well  versed  in  the  modern  languages.  He  was  for 
many  years  a  member  of  congress,  from  the  state 
of  New  York.  Peter,  the  second  son,  studied  medi 
cine,  and  at  one  time  kept  a  drug  store  in  Broad 
way,  near  Partition  (now  Fulton)  street.  He  after 
wards  became  editor  of  the  Morning  Chronicle,  a 
paper  established  to  support  the  election  of  Col. 
Burr.  The  third  son,  was  the  late  Judge  Irving. 
The  fourth,  was  Ebenezer,  a  merchant  and  auc 
tioneer.  Washington,  was  the  youngest.  He  re 
ceived  his  education  at  Columbia  college,  and  his 
first  buddings  forth,  as  a  writer,  were  in  a  series  of 
communications  to  the  Morning  Chronicle,  under 
the  signature  of  Jonathan  Oldstyle.  It  appears  that 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  189 

even  his  brother,  the  editor  of  the  paper,  did  not  at 
first  know  the  name  of  his  anonymous  contributor; 
and  that  often,  in  the  presence  of  the  latter,  he  and 
others  would  speculate  upon  the  subject.  On  one 
occasion,  however,  Washington  being  unable  to 
preserve  the  gravity  of  his  countenance,  the  secret 
came  out.  It  has  been  stated  that  he  manifested, 
in  his  youth,  an  almost  melancholy  disposition,  but 
the  gentleman  from  whom  much  of  the  above  in 
formation  has  been  elicited,  and  who  was  intimate 
ly  acquainted  with  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  never 
discovered  any  foundation  for  such  a  remark.  On 
the  contrary,  says  he,  until  threatened  with  con 
sumption,  he  was  always  full  of  frolic,  and  ever 
ready  to  join  in  any  mischief. 

Mr.  Irving  studied  law  with  the  celebrated  Josiah 
Ogden  Hoffman,  Esq.,  and  was  honorably  admitted 
to  practice.  It  is  said  that  he  actually  opened  an 
office  in  the  legal  quarter  of  the  city,  with  the  words : 


WASHINGTON  IRVING, 

ATTORNEY     AT     LAW. 


upon  his  door,  and  was  once  alarmed  by  the  appear 
ance  of  a  client.  But  it  appears  that  "  an  oppres 
sive  feeling  of  diffidence  caused  him  to  shrink  from 
trying  the  cause,  and  it  was  gladly  abandone'd  to  a 
brother  lawyer  of  far  less  talent,  but  who  had  a 
more  happy  degree  of  confidence  in  his  own  foren 
sic  abilities.  This  diffidence,  literary  success  has 
converted  into  an  innate  and  unaffected  modesty, 
that  adds  not  a  little  to  his  agreeable  qualities,  and 
which  is  rare  in  a  person  possessing  the  high  repu 
tation  he  enjoys." 

Of  his  literary  career,  his  travels,  and  his  mission 
to  Spain,  it  is  now  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon.     It 


190  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

will  be  sufficient  to  say,  that  if  "  there  ever  was  a 
writer  whose  reputation  flourishes  greenly  in  two 
hemispheres,  who  has  made  friends  of  every  class 
of  the  people,  who  is  read  with  as  much  pleasure 
by  childhood  as  by  age,  who  has  attained  the  rare 
felicity  of  filling  the  hearts  of  all  his  admirers  with 
a  feeling  of  personal  interest,  who  has  interwoven 
his  own  name  with  the  traditionary  history  or  cus 
toms  of  three  different  and  distinct  countries,  and 
whose  fame  has  suffered  no  diminution  from  the 
time  he  first  broke  upon  the  literary  world,  till  he 
has  virtually  withdrawn  from  it,  that  writer  is 
Washington  Irving !" 


THOMAS  WARNER, 

A  criminal  lawyer  of  extensive  practice  in  New 
York  city.     He  was  born  at  Brighton,  Sussex  coun 
ty,  England,  on  the   fourth  of  April,  1803.     His  fa 
ther,  who  was  a  miller  and  biscuit  baker,  was  not 
able  to  give  him  more  than  a  very  limited   educa 
tion.     By  intimations  from  a  relative  of  the  earl  of 
Harrington,  it  was  expected  that  Thomas,  when  of 
sufficient  age,  would   receive  employment   under 
government — but  he  was  disappointed.    His  parents 
then  strongly  urged  him,  as  an  only  son,  to  remain 
with  them  in  their  business;  but  he  had   higher 
thoughts.     He  had  taken  a  strong  fancy  to  the  le 
gal  profession.     He  adored  law  books,  and  learned 
counsellors  in  big  wigs,  and  silk  gowns,  appeared 
to  him  in  dreams.     He  had  not  the  remotest  idea 
of  spending  his  life  in  baking  biscuits.     A  friend  of 
the  family  sympathized  with  him,  and  evinced  his 
sincerity  by  procuring  him  an  opportunity  of  enter 
ing  the  office  of  Charles  Pearson,  Esq.,  the  present 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  191 

solicitor  of  London;  but  he  was  not  permitted  to 
embrace  it,  his  father  being  inflexible,  and  his  mo 
ther  denouncing  the  lawyers.  So  the  parties  had 
now  fairly  joined  issue.  It  was  "Bakery  versus 
Law."  Could  the  result  be  doubtful  ?  No :  for  who 
ever  heard  of  the  law  being  worsted  ?  Thomas 
"  snapped  a  judgment"  against  the  plaintiff,  and  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  left  the  bakery — not  like  Whitt- 
ington,  with  a  cat,  but — with  a  hundred  pounds 
sterling,  the  savings  of  his  youth,  in  his  pocket. 
With  this  he  articled  himself  to  a  member  of  the 
bar ;  but,  owing  to  inexperience  in  such  matters,  he 
did  not  make  such  a  bargain  as  would  enable  him 
to  demand  a  regular  course  of  instruction.  He  had 
therefore  to  labor  under  serious  difficulties  in  ac 
quiring  the  requisite  knowledge,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  procure  a  living.  But  he  conquered  diffi 
culties  by  attempting  them,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  his  term,  he,  as  an  attorney,  entered  into  an  ex 
tensive  practice.  For  several  years  he  was  engaged 
in  criminal  prosecutions,  under  the  auspice.s  of  the 
secretary  of  state  for  the  home  department,  and  the 
metropolitan  police  magistrates.^  The  extent  of  his 
business  may  be  inferred  from  trTe  fact,  that  on  one 
"occasion,  at  the  assizes  for  the  court  of  Surrey,  the 
records  show,  that  he  was  engaged  in  forty  out  of 
the  eighty  cases  on  the  calendar.  On  another  oc 
casion,  he  conducted  the  prosecution  of  three  noto 
rious  burglars,  with  so  much  skill,  that  Justice 
Gadzdee  publicly  ordered  him  to  be  paid  an  extra 
fee  of  twenty  guineas  out  of  the  county  treasury. 
He  was  engaged  by  the  home  department  to  pro 
cure  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  the  murderers  of 
Mr.  Richardson,  on  Barnstead  Downs,  in  Surrey. 
Having  five  police  officers  at  his  disposal,  he  scour 
ed  the  countryfor  some  weeks,  and  eventually  cap 
tured  two  men  and  a  woman,  as  the  supposed  cul 
prits.  The  magistrate  before  whom  they  were  tak 
en,  not  deeming  the  evidence  sufficiently  strong, 


192  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

discharged  them  ;  but  at  a  subsequent  period,  one 
of  the  men,  when  at  the  gallows  for  an  other  offence, 
confessed  that  he  and  his  companions  committed 
the  murder.  Among  other  important  cases  in 
which  Mr.  Warner  was  engaged,  was  that  of  Major 
Beauclerk,  a  relative  of  the  duke  of  St.  Albans,  and 
who  under  a  charge  of  a  revolting  crime,  cut  his 
throat  while  in  prison ;  also,  that  of  Captain  Henry 
Nicholls,  of  the  British  army,  who  was  executed  for 
a  similar  disgusting  offence. 

In  1^35,  Mr.  Warner  emigrated  to  this  country; 
but  on  arriving  at  New  York,  he  found  that  a  long 
probationary  term  must  precede  permission  to  prac 
tice.  After  remaining  three  days,  he  tossed  up  a 
halfpenny,  to  decide  as  to  whether  he  would  stay,  or 
return  to  London ;  and  the  die  was  cast  in  favor  of 
remaining.  Upon  what  trifles  does  our  fate  depend. 
Was  it  chance  which  caused  the  coin  to  fall  as  it 
did  ?  His  mind  being  made  up,  he  at  once  declar 
ed  his  intention  of  becoming  a  citizen,  and  sought 
employment,  in  whatever  shape  it  might  offer.  He 
was  soon  engaged  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the 
common  council,  in  preparing  some  old  corporation 
records  for  the  press.  Here  he  remained  for  about 
three  months,  during  which  period  he  wrote,  upon 
an  average,  a  hundred  and  twenty  folios  per  day,  at 
six  cents  per  folio.  He  then,  for  the  first  time  in 
his  life,  directed  his  attention  to  the  press,  and  was 
successfully  engaged  as  reporter  and  assistant  city 
editor  for  the  New  York  Daily  Advertiser,  the  Times, 
the  Transcript,  and  other  papers.  In  this  depart 
ment,  his  great  capacity  for  labor,  and  his  extensive 
general  knowledge,  rendered  him  a  valuable  coad 
jutor.  During  that  time  he  tried  his  hand  at  spe 
culation,  but  came  out  a  loser. 

In  1838,  he  succeeded  in  forming  a  connection  in 
the  legal  business,  with  A.  O.  Millard,  Esq.,  with  a 
view  to  admission  to  the  American  bar.  In  the  fall 
of  that  year,  in  consideration  of  his  previous  studies 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


193 


in  England,  he  was  admitted  to  the  New  York  court 
of  common  pleas;  and  in  1839,  attorney  and  coun 
sellor  in  the  supreme  and  district  courts.  In  1844, 
he  became  an  attorney  and  counsellor  in  the  su 
preme  court  of  the  United  States,  having  thus,  by 
his  indomitable  energy  fully  proved  the  wisdom  of 
his  motto:  "  nil  desperandum."  The  main  secret  of 
his  success  was — attention  to  business.  He  adopt 
ed  the  plan  of  a  facetious  writer,  who  in  his  advice 
to  lawyers,  says:  "Put  a  couple  of  pounds  of  bird 
lime  upon  your  office  stool,  and  sit  down  upon  it ; 
get  a  chain  round  your  leg,  and  tie  yourself  to  your 
desk;  nail  yourself  up  against  the  wall  of  your  of 
fice  like  a  weasel  on  a  barn  door,  or  the  sign  of  the 
spread  eagle ;  and  my  life  for  yours,  if  you  do  not 
do  business.  You  may  get  fat  upon  a  rock,  if  you 
never  quit  hold  of  it." 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  enumerate  the  many 
important  cases  in  which  Mr.  Warner  has  been  en 
gaged  since  his  admission  to  the  American  bar. 
Many  of  them  are  still  fresh  in  the  public  mind. 
There  was  his  successful  defence  of  Christiana  Co- 
chrane,  alias  Gilmour  (the  first  extraditio  case  un 
der  the  Ashburton  treaty,)  who  was  arrested  on  a 
charge  of  murdering  her  husband,  in  Scotland,  and 
who  was  afterwards  tried  there  and  acquitted.  He 
has  also  distinguished  himself  as  a  successful  advo 
cate,  in  several  highly  important  suits,  involving 
patent  rights.  In  conjunction  with  Mr.  Brady,  he 
defended  William  Leighton,  who  was  tried  before 
Judge  Kent,  upon  a  charge  of  having  murdered  his 
wife,  at  his  tailor's  store  in  Broadway,  and  of  setting 
fire  to  the  premises,  to  conceal  the  murder.  After 
an  exciting  trial,  of  more  than  a  week,  Leighton 
was  acquitted.  This  case  excited  unusual  interest, 
inasmuch  as  the  body  exhibited  no  external  or  in 
ternal  cause  of  death.  The  medical  witnesses  all 
differed  from  each  other,  on  many  important  points, 
and  so  singular  was  the  subject  deemed,  that  the 
^ 


194  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

last  American  edition  of  Guy's  Forensic  Medicine, 
devoted  several  pages  to  the  consideration  of  the 
case,  and  the  advancement  of  a  theory  based  upon 
it. 

The  rules  of  good  taste  will  not  permit  a  particu 
lar  allusion  to  the  charitable  deeds  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch;  but  the  destitute  and  the  afflicted  ne 
ver  appealed  to  him  in  vain,  and  the  oppressed  were 
never  turned  away  from  his  office  because  they 
were  too  poor  to  pay  a  defender. 

Should  his  father,  who  is  still  living  on  a  small 
competence  in  London,  ever  visit  New  York,  and 
see  the  substantial  harvest  which,  in  spite  of  heavy 
losses,  and  perplexing  difficulties,  his  son  has  ga 
thered  around  him,  by  the  practice  of  the  law,  the 
worthy  gentleman  would  instanter  order  a  nolle  pro- 
sequi,  to  be  entered  in  the  case  of  Thomas  Warner, 
charged  with  absenting  himself  from  the  bakery 
without  leave. 

Mr.  Warner  is  married,  but  has,  we  believe,  no 
children. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  195 


OGDEN  HOFFMAN. 

He  is  a  native  of  Orange  county,  and  the  son  of 
the  late  Hon.  Josiah  Ogden  Hoffman,  who  was 
himself  one  of  the  most  distinguished  members  of 
the  New  York  bar,  as  early  as  the  days  of  Alexan 
der  Hamilton,  Aaron  Burr,  John  Sloss  Hobart,  John 
Morin  Scott,  and  contemporary  with  Elisha  Wil 
liams,  John  Wells,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  and 
others,  whose  names  have  spread  so  much  lustre  on 
the  legal  profession.  Surely,  "  there  were  giants  in 
those  days." 

The  elder  Hoffman  was  recorder  of  the  city  of 
New  York  during  the  last  war,  and  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  was  associate  judge  with  Messrs.  Jones 
and  Oakley,  on  the  bench  of  the  supreme  court  of 
that  city.  He  was  a  man  eminently  distinguished 
for  his  legal  knowledge  and  acquirements,  both  as 
counsel  and  judge. 

During  the  war,  Ogden  Hoffman,  then  between 
fourteen  and  fifteen  years  of  age,  received  a  mid 
shipman's  warrant;  and  his  first  cruise  was  under 
the  gallant  Decatur,  in  the  frigate  President,  when 
she  was  captured  off  Long  Island,  by  a  British 
squadron,  after  one  of  the  most  desperate  defences 
on  record. 

The  United  States  frigate  President,  one  of  the 
finest  vessels  of  her  class  in  the  navy,  sailed  from 
this  port  on  the  14th  of  January,  1815,  on  a  cruise 
In  going  over  the  bar  she  grounded,  and  thumped 
heavily  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  At  high  water  she 
was  forced  over,  and  although  Decatur  wished  to 
put  back  and  repair,  the  wind  blew  so  strong  from 
the  west  that  he  was  compelled  to  go  to  sea.  An 
unfortunate  result,  as  the  sequel  proved. 

The  same  day  he  was  chased  by  a  squadron,  con- 


196  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

sisting  of  the  Majestic  (razee),  Eridymion,  Pomone, 
Tenedos,  frigates;  and  Despatch,  brig.  The  chase 
continued  until  the  next  day  at  three,  when  the 
Endymion,  the  headmost  ship,  commenced  the  en 
gagement;  but  she  was  soon  silenced,  and  would 
have  been  taken,  but  for  the  approach  of  her  con 
sorts — nor  did  she  fire  another  gun  during  the  ac 
tion.  The  Pomene  and  Tenedos  now  came  up  and 
continued  the  engagement,  which  was  spiritedly 
rnet  by  the  President ;  but  their  force  was  so  over 
whelming,  that  longer  defence  would  have  been 
butchery,  and  Decatur  reluctantly  struck  his  flag, 
after  a  chase  of  two  days,  and  an  engagement,  off 
and  on,  of  six  hours,  with  four  vessels,  either  of 
which  would  have  been  considered  his  equal.  In 
this  fight  he  had  four  lieutenants  and  twenty  men 
killed,  and  fifty-five  officers  and  men  wounded,  or 
nearly  one-fifth  of  his  crew. 

In  this  action,  young  Ogden  Hoffman  displayed 
great  bravery,  and  was  highly  spoken  of  by  his  su 
perior  officers. 

On  his  return  to  the  United  States,  peace  hav 
ing  been  declared,,  he  resigned  his  midshipman's 
warrant,  and  commenced  the  study  of  the  law.  Af 
ter  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  his  talents  and  elo 
quence  soon  brought  him  a  fair  practice,  and  he 
was  for  some  time  district-attorney  of  Orange  coun 
ty. 

In  the  city  of  New  York,  his  brilliant  and  melo 
dious  style  of  oratory  soon  placed  him  among  the 
first  pleaders  at  the  criminal  bar.  He  was  appoint 
ed,  about  the  year  1828,  district-attorney  of  New 
York,  which  situation  he  held  for  four  years,  but 
was  not  reappointed,  in  consequence  of  a  change  in 
his  politics. 

In  1837,  he  was  nominated  by  the  whigs,  for 
congress,  and  was  elected  for  two  consecutive  ses 
sions,  by  large  majorities,  and  in  both  instances  was 
ahead  of  the  rest  of  his  ticket — an  honorable  com- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  197 

pliment  from  some  of  his  political  opponents.  At 
the  election  of  Gen.  Harrison,  he  declined  a  nomi 
nation,  and  was  by  that  lamented  man  appointed 
United  States  attorney  for  the  southern  district  of 
New  York. 

Mr.  Hoffman's  eloquence  is  of  a  peculiarly  fasci 
nating  nature.  His  voice  is  melody  itself — soft,  yet 
at  the  same  time  as  clear  and  ringing  in  its  tones  as 
the  loudest  trumpet.  He  is  always  listened  to  with 
the  deepest  attention  by  a  jury.  In  popular  assem 
blages,  no  man  is  more  warmly  and  cordially  greet 
ed  and  applauded.  He  is  of  the  medium  height, 
and  about  forty-six  years  of  age. 


PRESERVED  FISH. 

The  grass  is  now  growing  over  the  mortal  remains 
of  this  celebrated  merchant;  but  his  unblemished 
reputation,  for  honesty  of  purpose  and  integrity  of 
principles,  will  long  survive.  It  is  said  that  his 
singular  name  was  given  to  him  by  some  sailors, 
who  found  him,  a  mere  infant,  floating  on  a  raft  at 
sea.  At  an  early  age  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  black 
smith  ;  but,  while  blowing  the  fire,  or  working  at 
the  anvil,  his  thoughts  were  far  away,  to  the  deep 
blue  sea;  and  with  the  instinct  of  an  "ocean  child/' 
he  longed  to  rock  once  more  upon  the  "  cradle  of 
the  deep."  Hence,  his  next  situation  was  that  of  a 
seaman,  on  board  of  a  whaling  ship.  Here  he  soon 
rose  to  the  station  of  mate,  and  finally  to  that  of 
commander.  In  this  hazardous  pursuit  he  remain 
ed  until  he  had  amassed  the  foundation  of  his  for 
tune.  He  subsequently  became  an  extensive  ship 
ping  merchant,  in  the  city  of  New  York. 


198  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


ELIJAH  F.  PURDY. 

Perhaps  there  are  few  individuals  in  the  city  of 
New  York  more  generally  and  favorably  known 
than  Alderman  Purdy.  He  is  from  the  stock  of  the 
Westchester  Purdys,  one  of  the  oldest  families  in 
our  state,  and  one  that  has  ever  held  a  prominent 
position  in  that  county,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  there  is  seldom  an  election  takes  place,  that 
one  of  the  name  is  not  elevated  to  some  office  by 
the  suffrage  of  his  fellow  citizens.  Alderman  Pur 
dy  was  born,  it  is  said,  at  White  Plains,  Westches 
ter  county,  and  is  now  about  forty- eight  years  of 
age,  in  the  full  vigor  of  manhood  and  intellect.  Af 
ter  receiving  a  respectable  English  education,  he 
was  apprenticed  to  a  carpenter,  which  profession  he 
followed  after  he  attained  his  majority,  and  by  his 
industry  and  attention  to  business,  accumulated 
sufficient  capital  to  open  a  country  store.  He  was 
doing  a  good  business,  when  his  prospects  were  sud 
denly  clouded,  and  the  fruits  of  years  of  toil  de 
stroyed  by  the  devouring  flames. 

This  catastrophe  only  stimulated  Mr.  Purdy  to 
renewed  exertions,  and  he  resolved  to  try  his  for 
tunes  in  New  York.  He  removed  to  that  city,  with 
his  family,  we  believe,  in  1821.  Here  he  resumed 
his  trade  for  a  while,  and  then  turned  carman,  and 
drove  a  horse  and  cart  for  a  number  of  years. 

Alderman  Purdy  took  up  his  residence  in  the 
tenth  ward,  and  was  soon  recognized  as  an  able 
and  efficient  politician,  by  the  democratic  party  of 
that  ward. 

In  1831,  he  received  an  appointment  in  the  cus 
tom  house,  and  during  his  continuance  in  that  situ 
ation,  obtained  a  high  reputation  with  the  mercan- 


ELIJAH    F.    PURDY 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  199 

tile  community,  for  his  correct  business  transactions 
and  habits.  In  the  early  part  of  1836,  Mr.  Purdy, 
who  has  always  been  a  great  stickler  for  the  doc 
trine  of  rotation  in  office,  resigned  his  situation  in 
the  custom  house,  and  retired  to  private  life. 

In  the  spring  of  1840,  he  was  elected  president 
of  the  board  of  aldermen,  which  honorable  station 
he  occupied  until  the  accession  of  the  whig  party 
to  power,  when  he  had  leave  to  retire  to  his  old 
seat.  As  a  presiding  officer,  he  was  always  strenu 
ous  in  maintaining  the  dignity  of  the  chair:  and 
although  he  was  not  altogether  aufait  in  matters  of 
parliamentary  usage,  and  the  rules  laid  down  in 
Jefferson's  Manual,  yet  we  believe  he  gave  univer 
sal  satisfaction,  by  the  manner  in  which  he  presid 
ed  over  their  deliberations,  to  both  parties  in  the 
board. 

In  the  winter  of  1840,  Alderman  Purdy,  by  vir 
tue  of  his  office  as  president  of  the  common  coun 
cil,  in  consequence  of  the  severe  indisposition  of 
Mayor  Varian,  was  called  upon  to  officiate  as  may 
or;  and  for  some  months  he  performed  the  duties 
of  that  arduous  and  responsible  situation,  in  addi 
tion  to  his  other  multifarious  duties,  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  public  and  the  common  coun 
cil. 


200  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


BENJAMIN  STANTON. 

And  when  the  orb  of  day  has  crown'd 

With  gold  the  western  sky, 
Before  his  dwelling  he  is  found, 

With  cheerful  faces  by — 
With  little  laughing  duplicates, 

Caresses  will  not  spoil; 
Oh,  joy  at  every  side  awaits 

The  tiller  of  the  soil ! 

Benjamin  Stanton  was  born  on  the  15th  of  Octo 
ber,  1794,  in  what  is  now  the  town  of  Westerlo, 
county  of  Albany.  His  parents  were  English.  His 
father  was  a  baptist  clergyman  of  extraordinary  ta 
lents,  and  conceded  by  his  compeers  to  have  been 
an  ornament  to  his  profession.  Benjamin  was  his 
fourth  son,  and  having  received  such  an  education 
as  our  common  schools  could  then  afford,  was 
brought  up  as  a  practical  farmer.  In  1814,  he  mar 
ried  an  amiable  and  interesting  wife,  and  in  six 
days  thereafter  was  called  to  the  defence  of  his 
country.  Such  was  his  soldier-like  appearance  and 
patriotic  ardor,  that  although  the  junior  of  every  of 
ficer  of  the  company,  he  was  voluntarily  tendered  a 
commission,  which  he  accepted,  and  honored  by 
the  most  unflinching  devotion  to  military  discipline. 
After  serving  the  term  for  which  he  was  called  into 
service,  he  returned  to  the  enjoyments  of  the  do 
mestic  circle. 

In  1816,  he  purchased  and  located  himself  on  a 
farm  at  Durham,  Greene  county,  New  York;  but 
he  followed  not  in  the  course  of  that  class  of  farm 
ers  whose  whole  action,  both  mental  and  physical, 
is  confined  to  the  drudgery  of  manual  labor.  By 
him,  science  and  philosophy  were  put  into  requisi 
tion,  which,  when  added  to  his  zeal  for  the  promo 
tion  of  every  philanthropic  object,  made  him  a  high- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  201 

ly  useful  member  of  community.  How  truly  has 
it  been  said,  that  the  situation  of  the  independent 
farmer  stands  among  the  first  for  honesty  and  vir 
tue.  It  is  the  one  to  which  statesmen  and  warriors 
have  retired,  to  find  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
works  of  nature,  that  serenity  which  more  conspi 
cuous  situations  could  not  impart.  It  is  an  agreea 
ble  life,  and  dependent  upon  no  one's  favor,  except 
His,  who  has  said,  that  "while  the  world  endureth, 
seed  time  and  harvest,  summer  and  winter,  shall 
not  cease." 

In  1835,  Mr.  Stanton  sold  his  estate  in  Greene 
county;  and  in  a  tour  of  observation,  through  seven 
of  the  south-western  states,  became  afflicted  with 
the  prevailing  disease  of  that  section,  and  narrowly 
escaped  with  his  life.  In  1836,  he  purchased  a 
farm  at  Westerlo,  adjoining  the  parental  homestead, 
where  he  still  resides,  surrounded  by  a  small,  but 
happy  family,  and  in  the  honest  and  faithful  dis 
charge  of  his  duty  as  a  practical  and  scientific 
farmer,  which  affords  ample  scope  for  the  exercise 
of  his  benevolent  disposition. 

In  1843,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Westerlo 
Temperance  society,  the  principles  of  which  glori 
ous  cause,  he  has  for  more  than  twenty  years,  both 
by  precept  and  example,  advocated  with  all  his  zeal 
and  energy. 

In  1846,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  conven 
tion  for  revising  the  constitution  of  the  state.  That 
he  was  not  a  speaking  member  of  that  body,  is  true; 
but  it  by  no  means  follows  that  loquacity  and  in 
dustry  always  go  together.  It  is  sufficient  to  say, 
that  while  there,  he  acquitted  himself  to  the  satis 
faction  of  his  constituents;  and  now  that  he  has 
retired  to  private  life,  we  find  him  still  ever  ready 
to  point  out  and  lead  in  the  path  of  virtue. 


26 


202  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


MRS.  EMILY  JUDSON,- 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  now  with  her  hus 
band,  Doctor  Judson,  in  a  remote  part  of  the  globe, 
assisting  him  in  the  glorious  field  of  missionary  la 
bor,  is  by  no  means  a  stranger  to  the  public.  Her 
numerous  contributions  to  the  press,  under  the  as 
sumed  name  of  Fanny  Forrester,  have  been  read 
with  delight  by  many  an  eye,  now  moistened  with 
tears  at  her  absence.  Previous  to  her  departure, 
she  was  a  highly  esteemed  member  of  the  Bleecker 
street  baptist  church,  at  Utica. 

"  Born  and  reared  in  humble  life,  she  aspired  to 
intellectual  acquisitions  which  could  be  reached  on 
ly  by  the  most  devoted  personal  exertions,  and 
these  she  used  with  distinguished  success.  Of 
these  exertions  we  have  learned  incidents  which 
may  at  some  time  be  communicated,  alike  honora 
ble  to  herself  personally,  and  encouraging  to  others 
whom  Divine  providence  may  have  placed  in  simi 
lar  circumstances.  Possessing  rare  qualities  as  a 
writer,  and  being  a  consistent  follower  of  Christ, 
she  made  her  first  attempts  in  works  of  a  religious 
character.  Of  these,  some  were  published  in  Utica, 
others  in  New  York,  and  not  less  than  four  have 
been  published,  at  different  times,  by  the  American 
Baptist  Publication  society,  in  Philadelphia.  These 
works,  however,  were  published  without  her  name, 
and  the  world  knew  not  that  Emily  Chubbuck 
wrote  them.  Of  ready  apprehension,  and  cheerful 
spirits,  she  notices  every  thing  pertaining  to  her 
scenes,  whether  real  or  imaginary,  at  a  glance,  and 
goes  dashing,  bounding  along,  wherever  she  lists, 
always  making  salient  the  points  of  chief  interest, 
and  bearing  her  readers  with  her,  and  holding  them, 
as  if  by  a  spell.  Possessing  such  qualities,  it  is  not 


MRS.    EMILY    JUDSON. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  203 

strange  that  her  magazine  articles  very  soon  attract 
ed  attention,  and  created  a  demand  for  new  contri 
butions,  which  could  be  met  only  by  intense  devo 
tion  to  this  department  of  intellectual  labor.  In  ad 
dition  to  this,  her  pieces  were  written  under  a  ne 
cessity,  which  heeds  but  to  be  named  to  secure  for 
her,  instantly,  a  favorable  consideration.  An  aged 
father  and  mother,  descending  the  vale  of  life,  in 
circumstances  of  dependence,  have  required  a  pro 
fitable  use  of  her  gifted  pen." 

The  following  account  of  her  marriage  appeared 
in  the  Utica  Observer: 

It  is  a  solemn  and  impressive  sight,  when  two 
step  out  from  the  circle  of  friends,  and,  before  God 
and  men,  promise  to  live  for  each  other;  but  it  is 
infinitely  more  so,  when  the  two,  in  wedding  each 
other,  bind  themselves  to  the  cause  of  God.  Such 
a  scene,  pure  and  holy  as  were  the  hearts  plighted 
to  each  other,  was  witnessed  in  the  neat  cottage 
where  dwell  the  parents  of  Fanny  Forrester.  The 
night  was  beautiful,  and  the  very  heavens  seemed 
to  smile  approvingly  upon  the  dedication,  for  such, 
indeed,  it  was,  on  the  part  of  one.  In  the  little 
parlor  were  collected  a  group,  each  face  expressive 
of  the  solemn  object  which  had  called  him  there. 
The  silence  was  broken  by  the  entrance  of  the  ve 
nerable  and  venerated  Dr.  Kendrick.  Then  came 
the  modern  apostle  to  the  Gentile  nations  of  Asia, 
bearing  upon  his  arm  a  bright  star  from  the  galaxy 
of  female  genius.  In  the  train  were  the  friends  of 
the  bride.  A  moment's  pause,  while  all  were 
standing,  and  then  commenced  the  holy  ceremony. 
The  groom,  with  erect  figure  and  unsprinkled  locks, 
betokened  the  vigor  of  manhood,  while  his  beam 
ing  countenance  portrayed  the  deep  emotions  of 
his  heart.  The  bride,  adorned  in  simple  white, 
raised  her  dark  eyes  to  the  man  of  God,  while  the 
response  of  her  warm  heart,  speaking  in  her  eager 
gaze,  was  the  finest  illustration  of  her  well  chosen 


204  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

motto :  '  Henceforth  I  pledge  myself  to  holier  pur 
poses.'  The  sister  and  cousin,  on  either  side,  in  the 
same  simple  garb,  while  upon  their  right  stood  two 
figures  in  the  decline  of  life,  whose  emotions  were 
plainly  told  in  the  silent  tear  that  fell  unchecked, 
and  the  calm  resignation  written  upbn  their  brows. 
The  all-sustaining  grace  of  God  was  in  their  hearts, 
and  they  could  bear  even  this  for  him.  Never 
before  was  I  so  impressed  with  the  presence  of 
our  blessed  Savior  at  a  wedding.  There  was  no 
evident  affliction  to  call  forth  the  melting  sympa 
thies  of  our  natures,  but  with  wonder  and  admira 
tion  did  we  behold  in  this  sundering  act  a  proof  that 
there  was  a  tender  link  between  their  hearts  and 
the*  throne  of  God,  which  will  never  be  severed. 
India's  tropic  clime  cannot  impair  it,  and  when 
life's  toils  are  over,  it  will  sweetly  draw  them  to  the 
rest  that  remainetb." 

How  different  is  the  destiny  of  Emily  Chubbuck 
from  that  of  Aurore  Dupin,  who,  also  under  an  as 
sumed  name,  that  of  George  Sand,  wrote  for  the 
brea'd  of  herself  and  family.  But,  says  Mary  How- 
itt,  to  understand  the  works  of  George  Sand,  and 
to  fully  appreciate  the  deep  lessons  which  they 
teach,  it  is  necessary  that  the  reader  should  know 
something  of  her  history. 

The  married  name  of  George  Sand,  is  Madame 
Dudevant —  her  maiden  name  is  Aurore  Dupin. 
Royal  blood  flows  in  her  veins;  for  her  grandfather, 
by  the  mother's  side,  was  the  celebrated  Marechal 
Saxe,  the  son  of  Augustus  II.,  of  Poland.  Her  fa 
ther,  M.  Dupin,  was  a  soldier,  one  of  the  aides-de 
camp  of  Marshal  Murat,  and  died  on  the  field  of 
battle,  leaving  his  child,  Aurore,  an  orphan,  at  an 
early  age.  She  inherited  a  considerable  fortune, 
and  being  left  under  the  care  of  her  grandmother, 
who  exercised  a  little  restraint  over  her,  she  began 
early  to  develope  that  independence  of  character, 
and  decided  intellectual  bias,  which  were  destined 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  205 

to  exercise  so  important  an  influence  over  her  fu 
ture  history.  She  was  brought  up  in  a  fine  old  coun 
try  house,  in  the  province  of  Berri,  the  wild  and 
beautiful  scenery  of  which  she  afterwards  depicted 
with  such  marvellous  effect,  in  her  numerous 
works. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen,  Aurore  Dupin  was,  by 
her  friends,  provided  with  a  husband,  and  handed 
over  to  a  M.  Dudevant,  with  whom  a  manage  de  con- 
venance,  as  it  is  commonly  called  in  France,  was 
concluded.  These  manages  de  convenance  are  the 
custom  among  the  higher  classes  throughout  France 
• — half  their  marriages  being  mere  business  transac 
tions  between  families.  They  proceed  upon  the 
supposition  that  woman  is  simply  an  article  of  bar 
ter;  and  while  the  fortune  and  estate  of  the  con 
tracting  parties  are  carefully  enough  estimated, 
such  things  as  heart  and  soul  have  little  or  no  con 
sideration  in  the  matter.  The  young  woman  i 
handed  over  to  the  husband  selected  for  her,  with 
her  goods  and  chattels,  of  which  she  is  regarded  as 
but  a  part — she  expecting  protection,  and  he  requir 
ing  absolute  obedience.  Aurore  Dupin  was  young 
and  beautiful — M.  Dudevant  was  old  and  ill-favor 
ed.  During  some  part  of  his  life  he  had  been  a 
soldier,  and,  like  most  old  soldiers,  he  enforced 
stern  discipline  in  his  household.  Servants,  dogs, 
and  horses,  trembled  at  the  sound  of  his  voice.  He 
was  dull  and  prosy,  emotionless,  but  impatient  of 
contradiction,  fond  of  money  and  personal  comfort, 
ignorant,  and  without  sympathy  for  his  kind,  and 
though  just,  according  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  he 
was  arbitrary  and  tyrannic  as  a  despot. 

To  such  a  man,  was  thus  united  for  life,  by  an 
arrangement  in  which  she  had  no  part,  a  young  be 
ing,  warm,  affectionate,  high-spirited,  and  full  of 
sympathy;  endowed  with  a  great  heart  and  soul, 
and  with  the  very  highest  capacities  for  happiness. 
There  could  be  no  sympathy  or  love  between  such 


206  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

natures — and  -  there  was  none.  The  living  body, 
bound  side  by  side  to  a  corpse,  could  scarcely  pre 
sent  a  more  revolting  picture.  The  soul  of  the  wo 
man  must  have  been  weighed  down  by  a  perpetual 
load  of  misery.  Where  the  wife  sought  affection, 
she  found  indifference;  where  she  craved  sympa 
thy,  she  met  with  contempt.  She  could  be  neither 
soul-mate  nor  help-mate  to  such  a  man. 

Eight  years  did  this  pair  live  together,  during 
which  time  Madame  Dudevant  became  the  mother 
of  two  lovely  children,  Solange  and  Maurice,  the 
society  of  whom  formed  her  chief  solace  in  her  mi 
sery.  She  sought  occupation  also  in  the  relief  of 
the  poor  of  her  neighborhood,  by  whom  she  was 
regarded  as  a  general  benefactress.  She  supplied 
those  who  needed  them,  with  food,  clothing,  and 
medicines.  But  this  could  not  relieve  the  tortures 
of  her  own  heart;  and  the  crisis  of  her  fate  had 
now  arrived.  There  are  limits  beyond  which  na 
ture  refuses  to  be  violated.  In  individuals,  as  in 
nations,  there  is  always  a  point  of  rebellion  and  re 
volt.  At  the  very  same  time  that  the  people  of  Pa 
ris  were  rising  in  rebellion  against  the  despotism  of 
their  rulers,  did  this  long-suffering  woman,  in  like 
manner,  after  long  strugglings,  rise  up  against  the 
despotism  of  her  husband.  She  revolted,  and  quit 
ted  her  married  home,  in  the  year  1830,  leaving 
every  thing  behind  but  her  children,  whom  M.  Du 
devant  would  not  allow  her  to  take  with  her,  unless 
on  condition  of  surrendering  to  him  her  whole  for 
tune,  some  500,000  francs.  To  preserve  her  inde 
pendence,  and  her  children,  she  gave  up  this  money 
to  him.  She  went  straight  to  Paris,  there  to  com 
mence  writing  for  her  own  and  her  children's  bread, 
under  the  assumed  name  of  George  Sand. 

We  do  not  say  that  her  early  works  are  fit  for  in 
discriminate  reading  by  youth.  To  understand 
them,  one  must  have  endured  sharp  and  bitter  ex 
perience  of  the  world.  To  sympathize  with  them 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  207 

thoroughly,  one  must  have  suffered  in  the  tender- 
est  part  of  our  nature — in  the  affections.  There  is, 
in  her  early  works,  a  piteous  and  prolonged  wail  of 
agony — a  breathed  anguish  of  the  tortured  heart — 
a  desperate  struggling  of  a  wronged  and  outraged 
nature — a  succession  of  pictures  of  social  misery 
and  torment,  which  we  look  upon  as  a  kind  of  men 
tal  aliment  not  to  be  placed  before  the  young  and 
pure  in  heart,  who  have  never  known  such  sorrows 
as  the  writer  herself  has  endured.  But  when  we 
recognize  in  these  writings,  as  the  thinking  and  ob 
servant  mind  cannot  fail  to  do,  the  indignant  pro 
test  of  a  noble  woman  against  a  false  and  vicious 
system — a  woman  who  has  suffered,  in  her  own 
person,  the  worst  of  what  she  depicts — is  it  not 
right,  we  ask,  that  such  things  should  be  known, 
were  it  only  as  a  first  step  towards  a  remedy,  and 
as  a  means  of  awakening  society  from  the  in 
difference  with  which  it  has  heretofore  been  accus 
tomed  to  regard  such  monstrous  wrong  and  in 
justice  ? 

It  is  a  gross  mistake  to  confound  George  Sand 
with  the  depraved  writers  of  the  Balzac,  Janin  arid 
Sue  school — for  she  never  makes  vice  beautiful— 
never  rewards  crime — never  strews  roses  over  cor 
ruption — virtue  is  by  her  always  surrounded  with 
the  glory  of  art,  and  the  blessedness  of  well-doing 
is  represented  as  the  highest  aim  and  reward  of  life. 


208  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  BUTLER. 

It  has  been  truly  said  of  this  distinguished'  man, 
that  his  life  has  flowed  on,  like  an  even  and  unruf 
fled  stream,  gathering  its  great  depth  of  volume 
from  a  thousand  springs,  unseen  to  the  public  eye; 
and  though  scarcely  perhaps  noticed  by  the  strang 
er,  whose  admiration  is  rather  attracted  by  the  more 
picturesque  wild  ness  of  the  mountain  torrent,  yet 
diffusing  a  daily  beneficent  utility  to  the  dwellers 
upon  its  tranquil  borders,  and  an  object  of  a  far 
higher  admiration  to  the  more  judicious  eye,  that 
can  better  appreciate  true  excellence.  Having  risen 
from  a  humbJe  beginning,  by  the  great  but  zealous 
exercise  of  those  qualities,  which^sirnilarly  applied, 
can  never  fail  to  command  a  similar  success — in 
dustry,  self-cultivation,  integrity  and  purity  of  life — 
his  career  presents  one  of  those  pictures  best  illus 
trative  of  the  spirit  of  our  institutions,  and  best  cal 
culated  for  a  useful  example,  and  encouragement  to 
others. 

Mr.  Butler  was  bom  at  Kinderhook,  December 
14,  1795.  His  father,  Medad  Butler,  was  born  in 
Branford,  Connecticut.  The  grandfather  of  the  lat 
ter,  Jonathan  Butler,  was  one  of  the  two  brothers, 
Irish  adventurers,  who  came  to  Connecticut  about 
1710.  He  married  a  descendant  of  the  original  pu 
ritan  settlers  of  that  colony.  His  son,  Ezekiel,  mar 
ried  Mabel  Jones,  a  lineal  descendant  of  Col.  John 
Jones,  and  Catharine,  a  sister  of  Oliver  Cromwell. 
Catharine  was  a  second  wife,  and  Mabel,  the  an 
cestress,  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was  descended 
from  a  son  by  the  first  wife.  Catharine  had  no 
children.  This  Col.  Jones  was  one  of  the  renegade 
judges,  and,  after  the  restoration,  suffered  the  pe 
nalty  for  that  act,  "  whose  stern  glory  shall  immor- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  209 

talize  the  names  of  all  who  participated  in  it,  by 
being  beheaded  for  high  treason.  His  father  came 
to  Connecticut,  and  many  of  his  descendants  are 
to  be  found  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States. 

From  the  earliest  age,  Benjamin  was  always  fond 
of  books,  reading  all  he  could  find,  with  great  avi 
dity.  Among  them  were  the  works  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  to  which  book,  more  than  to  any  other, 
he  ascribes  the  formation  of  his  character.  He 
commenced  learning  Latin  at  the  age  of  seven,  and 
continued  at  school  until  his  fifteenth  year. 

In  1811,  Mr.  Van  Buren  took  him  into  his  office, 
as  a  law  student,  at  Hudson. 

In  1817,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  as  an  attor 
ney  of  the  supreme  court,  and  solicitor  in  chancery. 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  then  attorney-general  of  the  state, 
shortly  afterwards  admitted  him  into  partnership  in 
his  professional  business  at  Albany. 

In  Nov.,  1824,  he  was  appointed,  together  with 
two  other  distinguished  lawyers,  to  the  arduous 
charge  of  a  revision  and  codification  of  all  the  sta 
tutes  of  the  state  of  New  York.  He  was, -however, 
connected  with  this  revision  for  a  much  longer 
term  than  his  associates,  being  one  of  the  first  ap 
pointed  commissioners,  and  continuing  in  the  work 
to  its  termination. 

In  1829,  Mr.  Butler  was  appointed  a  regent  of  the 
university,  but  he  resigned  in  1832.  In  November, 
1833,  at  the  earnest  request  of  President  Jackson, 
he  accepted  the  office  of  attorney-general  of  the 
United  States,  although  he  had  declined  all  previ 
ous  offers  to  induce  him  to  go  to  Washington.  He 
served  one  year  during  Mr.  Van  Buren'sterm,  when 
he  resigned. 

In  addition  to  his  professional  labors,  he  has  al 
ways  been  an  advocate  of  the  great  cause  of  moral 
and  religious  philanthropy.  He  has  been  an  ardu 
ous  friend  of  the  temperance  cause;  and  ever  since 
1817,  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
27 


210  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

church.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1818,  is  a 
sister  of  the  gallant  Lieut.  Allen,  of  the  navy,  who 
was  killed  in  a  boat  attack  of  a  piratical  schooner, 
in  1832. 

Although  at  much  inconvenience  to  himself,  Mr. 
Butler  was  never  known  to  refuse  to  lend  his  aid 
towards  the  advancement  of  any  good  object.  He 
very  recently  delivered  an  interesting  lecture  in  Al 
bany,  before  the  Young  Men's  Association  of  that 
city,  in  which  he  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  his 
hearers,  the  priceless  value  of  integrity  and  perse 
verance. 


STEPHEN  ALLEN, 

Affords  another  instance  of  what  may  be  accom 
plished  without  money,  without  family  connexions 
or  friends.  Mr.  Allen  commenced  life,  it  is  said,  as 
a  poor  sailor  boy.  He  was  afterwards  a  sail  maker, 
and  finally  kept  one  of  the  largest  establishments 
of  that  kind.  By  his  punctuality  and  integrity,  he 
amassed  a  large  fortune.  When  the  tempest  raged 
in  its  fury,  and  he  almost  sunk  under  the  hardships 
of  his  situation,  how  the  heart  of  that  poor  sailor 
boy  would  have  bounded  for  joy,  could  he  have  fore 
seen  that  he  would  at  a  future  period,  become  mayor 
the  city  of  New  York,  for  three  successive  years, 
and  afterwards  fill  other  high  offices  of  honor  and 
trust ! 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  211 


EDMUND  BURKE. 

The  career  of  few  men,  says  the  Democratic  Re 
view,  affords  a  better  illustration  of  the  fostering 
tendency  of  republican  institutions,  than  is  to  be 
drawn  from  that  of  the  present  commissioner  of 
patents. 

The  family  of  this  gentleman  is  of  Irish  origin. 
They  originally  resided  in  the  town  of  Westminster, 
Vermont,  situated  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  the 
Connecticut,  where  his  father  cultivated  a  farm, 
and  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom,  on 
the  23d  of  January,  1809.  The  circumstances  of 
the  parent,  like  those  of  most  middling  farmers  of 
New  England,  were  such  as  to  compel  him  to  keep 
the  son  at  agricultural  toil,  until  sixteen  years  of 
age,  with  the  exception  of  the  time  prior  to  his  fif 
teenth  year,  devoted  to  the  exercises  of  the  ordinary 
country  free  school  of  those  days.  Fortunately,  the 
talents  of  the  parent  were  of  no  common  order,  and 
he  strictly  fulfilled  the  duty  of  training  the  mind  of 
his  son,  which  at  sixteen,  was  sufficiently  developed 
and  well  informed,  for  commencing  the  study  of 
the  law,  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  W.  E.  Bradley,  (of 
Westminster,  Vermont,)  who  has  so  long  ranked  as 
one  of  the  most  enlightened  republicans  and  emi 
nent  jurists  of  New  England. 

In  the  autumn  of  1829,  before  the  close  of  his 
twenty-first  year,  Mr.  Burke,  after  passing  the  usual 
examination,  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  the  fol 
lowing  spring,  he  commenced  the  practice  of  this 
profession  in  the  wild  northern  region  of  the  state 
of  New  Hampshire,  where,  in  three  years,  his  ex 
perience  with  men  and  things,  not  only  taught  him 
much  of  human  nature,  but  matured  his  intellect. 

In  1833  Mr.  Burke  removed  to  Claremont,  Sulli- 


212  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

van  county,  New  Hampshire,  and  there  established 
the  New  Hampshire  Argus,  which  under  his  ma 
nagement,  immediately  took  rank  as  one  of  the  first 
democratic  papers  in  New  England.  The  success 
of  the  Argus  soon  caused  its  removal  to  Newport, 
the  shire  town  of  the  county,  where  it  was  united 
with  the  New  Hampshire  Spectator;  and  under  the 
sole  editorial  direction  of  Mr.  Burke,  the  joint  estab 
lishment  took  the  name  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Argus  and  Spectator.  Such  was  his  success  in  this 
theatre,  that,  in  1^37,  though  personally  a  stranger 
to  the  present  president  of  the  United  States,  (then 
speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives,)  and  Senator 
Grundy,  he  received  overtures  from  these  gentle 
men,  on  behalf  of  the  leading  democratic  politicians 
of  Tennessee,  to  remove  to  Nashville,  and  assume 
the  editorial  charge  of  the  Nashville  Union.  Mr. 
Burke,  on  reflection,  having  determined  to  accept 
this  invitation,  published  his  valedictory,  which 
immediately  brought  forth  so  strong  a  remonstrance 
from  his  political  friends  at  home,  that  he  gave  up 
the  intention  of  removing  to  Tennessee. 

At  the  next  congressional  canvass,  he  was  nomi 
nated,  and  triumphantly  elected  to  the  house  of 
representatives  of  the  United  States;  and  took  his 
seat  on  the  2d  of  December,  1839,  at  the  opening 
of  the  26th  congress. 

He  soon  obtained  rank  in  this  new  field,  as  a  man 
of  a  high  order  of  intellect,  extensive  acquirements, 
untiring  industry,  and  uncompromising  political 
integrity.  The  famous  debate  of  1840,  on  the  sub- 
treasury  bill,  may  be  said  to  have  first  made  the 
democratic  party,  out  of  New  England,  acquainted 
with  the  intellectual  powers  of  Edmund  Burke,  and 
to  mark  him  as  one  of  the  rising  men  of  the  country. 

In  1842  he  had  occasion  to  approach  the  tariff 
question,  in  an  argument  supported,  as  usual,  with 
results  of  his  statistical  researches,  in  connection 
with  the  science  of  political  economy.  This  effort, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  213 

which  won  him  great  credit  with  his  political  friends 
in  the  house,  was  extensively  republished  in  demo 
cratic  journals.  During  the  discussion  of  the  Rhode 
Island  difficulty,  after  close  investigation  into  the 
questions  at  issue,  Mr.  Burke  became  a  zealous  ad 
vocate  of  the  party  attached  to  Thomas  W.  Dorr. 

The  six  years  of  his  congressional  life  were  de 
voted  to  intense  labor,  which  has  left  in  the  public 
archives,  honorable  and  abundant  evidence  of  his 
indefatigable  industry  and  expanded  intellect. 

Upon  the  advent  of  the  present  administration, 
without  personal  solicitation  on  his  part,  the  presi 
dent  called  Mr.  Burke  to  the  responsible  position  of 
commissioner  of  patents;  which  trust  he  now  fills, 
with  so  much  credit  to  himself,  and  satisfaction  to  the 
scientific  and  ingenious  of  the  country,  with  whom 
his  official  duties  bring  him  constantly  into  contact. 

Mr.  Burke  is  the  author  of  the  well  known  series 
of  essays  on  the  protective  system,  published  in  the 
Union  under  the  signature  of  "  Bundelcund." 

A  periodical  of  high  standing,  says  of  Mr.  Burke, 
"He  possesses  one  of  the  best  informed  minds  in 
the  country.  In  the  midst  of  all  his  political  labors 
and  private  business,  which  has  never  been  neg 
lected,  he  has  found  time  to  devote  himself  to  the 
acquirement  of  much  scientific  and  literary  inform 
ation,  and  there  are  few,  very  few  private  libraries 
in  New  England,  which  will  compare  with  his  in 
size  or  in  usefulness.  His  characteristics  are  energy 
of  purpose,  untiring  industry,  uncompromising  hos 
tility  to  everything  aristocratic,  or  un-American ; 
devotion  to  his  political  principles,  equal  to  that  of 
a  Mahometan  to  his  prophet;  attachment,  which 
hardly  knows  a  bound,  to  his  friends;  frankness, 
which  never  permits  him  to  conceal  his  honest 
opinions  on  any  subject.  In  his  bearing  and  man 
ners,  he  is  urbane  and  gentlemanly  to  all  who  have 
occasion  to  come  in  contact  with  him  in  public  or 
private  life." 


214  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


ROBERT  H.  MORRIS, 

Was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York.  His  father, 
Robert  Morris,  soon  afterwards  removed  to  Claver- 
ack,  Columbia  county,  near  the  city  of  Hudson, 
where  the  subject  of  this  memoir  received  his  edu 
cation.  Being  strongly  attached  to  the  law,  he 
studied  with  the  Hon.  J.  D.  Monell,  and  subsequent 
ly  with  the  Hon.  J.  N.  Edwards.  So  close  was  his 
application  to  study,  that  he  attained  such  profi 
ciency  as  entitled  him  to  the  highest  praise  of  the 
examiners  of  the  law,  and  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  before  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one. 
He  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  at 
Johnstown,  Columbia  county,  where  he  was  an 
early  and  ardent  advocate  of  democratic  principles. 
While  a  resident  of  Livingston,  he  received  many 
proofs  of  great  personal  popularity. 

Early  in  his  professional  career  he  became  distin 
guished  as  an  advocate.  In  1829,  having  previously 
been  admitted  to  the  degree  of  counsellor  at  law,  he 
returned  to  the  place  of  his  birth,  the  city  of  New 
York,  and  pursued  the  practice  of  his  profession 
with  extraordinary  success — with  his  characteristic 
energy  and  popular  manners  he  also  engaged  in 
politics.  He  was  soon  recognized  as  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  his  party,  which  sent  him  to 
the  legislature  in  1833,  and  he  was  re-elected  in 
1834.  At  the  latter  session,  during  the  celebrated 
struggle  for  a  recharter  of  the  United  States  Bank, 
he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  banks,  and 
as  such,  held  the  most  important  position  in  the 
assembly. 

In  1838  Mr.  Morris  was  appointed  recorder  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  which  office  he  held  for  about 
three  years.  During  the  period  he  remained  in 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  215 

office,  he  discharged  his  duties  with  great  prompt 
ness  and  general  satisfaction.  In  1840,  (a  period 
of  great  political  excitement,)  he,  in  conjunction 
with  Ma}ror  Varian,  seized  the  celebrated  Glent- 
worth  papers.  For  this  he  was  removed  by  the 
governor  and  senate — the  reason  given  for  so  doing, 
was,  that  he  acted  illegally.  Whether  the  removal 
was  right  or  wrong,  others  must  decide. 

At  the  ensuing  election  for  mayor,  Mr.  Morris 
was  nominated  by  the  party  to  which  he  belonged, 
and  elected  by  a  heavy  majority.  This  was  to  him, 
undoubtedly,  a  great  triumph,  showing  that,  at  any 
rate,  he  was  sustained  in  his  views  by  the  people 
of  his  native  city. 

At  the  next  election  for  the  same  office,  his  ma 
jority  was  still  greater.  He  was  also  elected  a 
third  time,  on  which  occasion  he  stated  his  deter 
mination  not  again  to  be  a  candidate. 

In  May,  Mr.  Morris  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
the  city  of  New  York  by  President  Polk,  and  not 
withstanding  he  held  this  honorable  and  important 
office,  the  citizens  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the 
spring  of  1846,  elected  him  one  of  the  delegates  to 
amend  the  constitution  of  the  state. 

It  has  been  truly  observed  that  Mr.  Morris'^  great 
personal  popularity  is  much  owing  to  his  pleasing 
address.  His  manner  is  the  same  when  associating 
with  the  elevated,  as  with  the  most  humble ;  and 
towards  both,  he  acts  with  that  courtesy  that  ac 
companies  a  just  appreciation  of  the  feelings  and 
rights  of  others,  with  a  proper  sense  of  what  is  due 
to  himself. 


216  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


STEPHEN  C.  JOHNSON. 

The  ancestors  of  Senator  Johnson,  on  his  father's 
side,  were  of  Irish  extraction ;  and  his  mother's,  of 
English  descent.  His  paternal  grandfather  had  the 
reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  athletic  men 
in  the  town  where  he  resided,  having  no  superior 
in  the  county.  Solomon  Johnson,  one  of  his  sons, 
was  likewise  a  man  of  extraordinary  powerful 
frame.  For  several  previous  generations,  the  male 
members  of  the  family  were  also  distinguished  for 
height,  and  great  bodily  strength.  But  although  in 
those  early  and  troublous  times  in  the  Emerald  isle, 
when 

The  green  of  her  valleys  was  crimsoned  with  blood, 

and  when  might  was  too  frequently  mistaken  for 
right,  personal  prowess  was  a  valuable  gift,  the 
senator  is  fully  aware  that  in  the  battle  of  life,  in 
these  days,  when  intellects  clash,  instead  of  steel, 
something  more  is  necessary  than  muscle,  bone  and 
sinew.  He  is  one  of  those  who  fully  subscribe  to 
the  sentiment  of  the  poet. 

Were  I  so  tall  to  reach  the  pole, 

Or  grasp  the  ocean  with  a  span, 
I  must  be  measured  by  rny  soul, 

The  mind  Vine  measure  of  the  man. 

The  above  named  Solomon  enlisted  as  a  private 
soldier,  in  the  war  of  the  revolution ;  and,  after 
exerting  himself  usefully  for  some  years  in  the  cause 
of  his  adopted  country,  he  died  in  the  service.  His 
brother,  Jotham  Johnson,  the  father  of  the  senator, 
was  too  young  to  enter  the  army  until  near  the 
close  of  the  war;  and,  from  the  need  in  which  the 
family  stood  of  his  labor,  although  his  heart  was  in 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  217 

the  battle  field,  he  could  not  take  any  part  in  the 
glorious  struggle  for  independence.  He  married, 
and  became  a  farmer,  which  business  he  has  al 
ways  followed  unremittingly,  and  pretty  successful 
ly.  He  is  still  living,  and  has  the  reputation  of  be 
ing  one  of  the  most  industrious  men  in  the  county 
where  he  resides.  He  is  now  in  his  eightieth  year, 
and  his  health  remains  good.  He  is,  too,  one  of 
those  fortunate  men  who  have  never  known  a  sick 
day: 

A  hardy,  sunburnt  man  is  he, 

A  hardy,  sunburnt  man; 
No  sturdier  man  you  '11  ever  see, 

Though  all  the  world  you  scan. 
In  summer's  heat,  in  winter's  cold, 

You  '11  find  him  at  iiis  toil — 
Oh,  far  above  the  knight  of  old, 

Is  the  tiller  of  the  soil. 

The  maternal  grandfather  of  the  senator  was  Ste 
phen  Crosby,  a  captain  in  the  revolutionary  war, 
and  who  died  at  the  evacuation  of  New  York  by 
the  British.  He  left  a  widow  and  a  large  family  of 
children.  The  sons  reside  in  Connecticut,  and 
have,  it  is  said,  always  been  democrats,  while  it  is 
presumed  the  daughters  are  all  whigs.  Hannah 
Crosby,  the  mother  of  our  subject,  was  a  woman 
of  refined  taste,  elevated  morals,  and  great  strength 
of  character.  Few  women  ever  possessed  finer  mo 
ral  perceptions.  She  had  a  family  of  nine  children, 
who  all  lived  to  be  men  and  women;  and  it  has 
been  said  that  if  any  of  them  possessed  talent  above 
mediocrity,  it  must  have  been  derived  from  her. 
She  died  about  five  years  ago,  in  the  seventy-fifth 
year  of  her  age.  How  truly  has  it  been  said,  that 
the  influence  of  a  mother  touches  all  the  deep  well- 
springs  of  action,  that  are  felt  alike  in  the  smallest 
circle  and  in  the  largest  empire.  And  hence,  that 
appropriate  adage :  "  They  who  rock  the  cradle, 
rule  the  world."  The  traces  of  a  mother's  influ- 
28 


218  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

ence  upon  the  young  mind,  the  thoughts  that  she 
causes  to  glow  and  burn  in  that  young  soul,  shall, 
one  day,  light  up  a  world  of  emotion  and  energy  in 
the  bosom  of  others;  and  those  in  their  turn,  shall 
rouse,  and  stimulate,  and  strengthen  others  to  acts 
of  noble  daring,  until  her  single  influence,  like  the 
power  that  moves  the  first  wave,  and  this,  in  its 
turn,  a  second,  and  third,  and  the  last,  shall  reach  to 
the  utmost  boundary  of  time. 

Stephen  C.  Johnson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  in  the  town  of  Thompson,  Windham 
county,  Ct.  At  a  very  early  age  he  was  fond  of 
reading  and  meditation,  and  from  infancy  his  heart 
had  worshipped  the  beautiful,  wheresoever  found. 
Like  others  of  a  similar  turn,  he  would  hang  enrap 
tured  "  over  tiny  caves,  lined  with  green  and  gold 
en  moss,  and  spend  hours  of  exquisite  felicity  in 
sailing  his  little  fleet,  of  tulip  leaves,  upon  a  clear, 
pebbly  brook,  and  would  peer  into  the  colored  cups 
and  bells  of  the  flowers,  in  a  perfect  ecstacy  of  de 
light." 

As  he  grew  older,  he  was  one  of  those  who  would 
steal  out,  on  a  stormy  night,  to  watch  the  wild 
rocking  of  the  pines  against  the  lowering  sky ;  his 
heart  swelling  to  the  grand  and  sublime;  or  who 
walk  in  the  calm  summer's  evening,  alone  and  un 
disturbed,  while  the  pale  star  of  evening  shines  in 
tears,  his  eye  piercing  into  the  blue  depths  of  the 
awful  heavens,  endeavoring  to  follow  the  dread  idea 
of  the  Almighty  to  his  throne. 

Before  the  age  of  twelve  he  had  read  a  great 
number  of  miscellaneous  works,  embracing  a  regu 
lar  course  of  history,  and  the  most  vivid  impressions 
were  made  at  that  period.  In  the  common  school, 
where  he  remained  until  the  age  of  sixteen,  it  is 
said  he  had  no  superior,  and  but  one  equal,  whose 
name  was  Aaron  N.  Skinner,  now  a  resident  of  New 
Haven,  Connecticut.  These  two  stoutly  contested 
for  the  head  of  the  class. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  219 

On  the  6th  of  January,  1831,  Mr.  Johnson  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  Ann  Swift,  daughter  of  Sam'l 
Swift,  Esq.  He  came  to  Delhi,  Delaware  county, 
New  York,  in  November,  1826,  poor,  and  having  no 
friends,  except  a  brother,  Noadiah  Johnson,  who 
died  while  a  member  of  the  New  York  senate,  in 
the  spring  of  1839.  With  him  Stephen  commenced 
the  study  of  law,  and  finished  with  Mr.  Amasa  J. 
Parker. 

In  the  July  term  of  1830,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
New  York  supreme  court;  and  the  poor,  friendless 
young  man,  who  twenty  years  ago  came  into  that 
county,  having  no  dependence  but  his  industrious 
habits  and  determined  perseverance,  is  now  a  sena 
tor  from  the  third  senate  district. 


ABRAHAM  GRIDLEY. 

Senator  Gridley  is  the  second  son  of  Elisha  Grid 
ley,  and  a  native  of  the  old,  rich  town  of  Farming- 
ton,  Hartford  county,  Connecticut.  He  is  a  de 
scendant  of  an  English  gentleman,  who  emigrated 
to  this  country  during  the  reign  of  Oliver  Cromwell, 
and  who,  several  years  previous  to  his  migration, 
held  the  appointment  of  brigadier-general.  He 
was  a  man  of  wealth,  and  one  of  an  association  of 
eighty-four,  who  purchased  the  above  town,  then 
twelve  by  eighteen  miles,  at  the  time  of  the  first 
settlement  of  what  was  then  termed  the  Hartford 
colony.  Most  of  the  said  association  first  settled  at 
Plymouth  and  Boston,  about  the  middle  of  the  se 
venteenth  century. 

Abraham,  the  senator,  is  of  the  sixth  generation. 
He  was  born  upon  a  remnant  of  the  old  family  do 
main,  on  the  third  of  September,  1793.  His  fa- 


220  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

ther's  motner  was  first  cousin  to  the  elder  John 
Adams.  The  maiden  name  of  Abraham's  mother 
was  Hopkins.  She  was  also  a  descendant  of  the  pil 
grims.  His  father  served  as  a  volunteer  in  the  re 
volutionary  war,  and  was  engaged  in  several  bat 
tles.  After  the  termination  of  hostilities,  he  spent 
several  years  in  teaching  and  traveling.  He  mar 
ried  at  the  age  of  thirty-one ;  and,  in  1799,  removed 
to  the  town  of  Paris,  Oneida  county,  New  York, 
where  he  resolved  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his 
days,  as  a  practical  farmer.  Six  years  afterward, 
however,  he  again  removed,  to  the  town  of  Vernon, 
a  .short  distance  east  of  the  Oneida  castle,  on  the 
great  western  turnpike.  That  portion  of  the  coun 
try  was  then  comparatively  new,  and  but  sparsely 
settled  by  the  whites,  more  than  nine-tenths  of 
whom  lived  in  log  cabins.  The  then  wild  and  un 
civilized  Oneidas  and  Onondagas,  and  the  hali^ci- 
vilized  Stockbridge  tribes,  far  outnumbered  the 
white  population  in  the  vicinity ;  and  when  the  In 
dians  indulged,  as  they  constantly  did,  in  their  do 
mestic  revels,  they  were  a  terror  to  the  settlers  on 
every  side. 

Abraham,  being  then  a  lad  of  about  eleven  years 
of  age,  by  mixing  with  the  different  tribes,  soon  ac 
quired  a  correct  knowledge  of  their  language,  which 
gained  him  the  good  will  of  many  of  the  red  men. 
About  this  time  he  entered  a  store,  as  clerk,  where 
he  remained  for  two  years.  While  there,  he  be 
came  an  especial  favorite  of  the  Oneidas,  even  of 
the  chief,  and  the  head  men  of  the  tribe.  They 
gave  the  young  pale  face  credit  for  speaking  their 
language,  better  than  most  whites  who  had  endea 
vored  to  learn  it.  Like  other  youths,  however,  he 
was  often  engaged  in  playing  tricks  upon  his  red 
friends,  when  they  were  drunk;  and  on  several  of 
these  occasions  he  was  indebted  to  his  speed,  or  to 
concealment,  to  avoid  the  drawn  knife.  In  such 
cases,  when  his  life  was  threatened  in  cold  blood, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  221 

he  found  it  necessary,  after  the  first  gust  of  passion 
had  subsided,  to  make  peace,  and  to  bury  the 
hatchet,  on  the  best  terms  he  could.  This  he  ge 
nerally  accomplished  by  means  of  a  small  present, 
and  an  earnest  expression  of  sorrow. 

In  the  spring  of  1811,  he  procured  a  situation  as 
clerk,  in  the  lovely  and  rural  village  of  Auburn, 
then  containing  between  two  and  three  hundred 
inhabitants,  and  where  he  has  ever  since  resided. 

On  the  6th  of  September,  1815,  he  married  Miss 
Sarah  Edwards,  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Isaac  Good 
rich,  then  late  of  Glastonbury,  Connecticut.  Her 
mother  was  one  of  the  celebrated  Edwards  family, 
of  Connecticut. 

In  September,  1814,  he  had  commenced  business 
as  a  merchant,  on  his  own  account;  but  the  great 
commercial  revulsion  which  shortly  followed  the 
unexampled  profits  with  which  the  first  importa 
tions  were  attended,  and  by  which  hundreds  of  opu 
lent  merchants  were  ruined,  included  Mr.  Gridley 
in  the  general  wreck.  When  this  sudden  change 
in  the  price  of  foreign  fabrics  took  place,  he  had  a 
large  stock  of  war  goods  on  hand.  Bankruptcy 
was,  therefore,  inevitable,  and  not  being  able  to  ef 
fect  a  compromise  with  all  his  creditors,  he  remain 
ed  insolvent  until  1828,  when,  from  the  avails  of 
his  office,  as  Cayuga  county  clerk,  he  satisfied  the 
last  demand  ;  and  thus,  without  availing  himself  of 
any  legal  protection,  which  he  had  firmly  resolved 
never  to  do,  he  received  from  his  creditors  a  full 
discharge  of  their  claims.  Would  that  thousands 
of  others,  who  have  recovered  from  their  misfor 
tunes,  and  who  are  now  rolling  in  wealth,  would 
follow  his  example !  Are  there  no  professors  of  re 
ligion,  who  suffer  themselves  to  be  deluded  by  the 
idea,  that  a  legal  absolution  from  a  debt  is  also  a 
moral  one,  and  that  a  bankrupt's  certificate  is  a 
good  set-off  to  the  passage  which  glows  upon  the 
page  of  holy  writ:  "  Owe  no  man  any  thing." 


222  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

Having  previously  progressed  through  most  of  the 
grades  of  military  rank,  to  that  of  general  of  the 
seventh  brigade  of  New  York  infantry,  this  latter 
office,  in  April,  1829,  he  resigned. 

In  1840,  Gov.  Seward  conferred  upon  him  the  of 
fice  of  clerk  in  the  Auburn  prison,  which  he  retain 
ed  until  July,  1844.  He  is  now  a  senator  from  the 
seventh  senatorial  district,  to  which  honorable  sta 
tion  he  was  nominated  without  any  knowledge  or 
solicitation  on  his  part,  either  directly  or  indirectly. 

In  1820,  Mr.  Gridley  became  a  member  of  St. 
Peter's  church,  in  Auburn,  and  he  has  almost  ever 
since  been  one  of  the  vestry.  He  has  had,  also, 
many  other  offices  of  honor  and  trust,  and,  to  a  most 
gratifying  extent,  he  enjoys  the  confidence  and  es 
teem  of  his  neighbors.  But  that  one  blessing,  if  it 
can  be  so  called,  and  which  is  generally  deemed 
paramount  to  all  others,  wealth,  he  has  never  enjoy 
ed.  Yet  he  has  never  suffered  for  any  of  the  com 
forts,  or  even  luxuries  of  life,  having  enjoyed  that 
state  so  desired  by  the  prophet,  "neither  poverty 
nor  riches."  To  him  it  has  always  been  a  great 
luxury  to  do  all  the  good  in  his  power,  and,  so  far 
as  his  means  would  permit,  to  relieve  the  real 
wants,  and  to  alleviate  the  misery  of  those  around 
him.  And  to  this,  perhaps,  may  be  attributed  the 
absence  of  that  wealth  which  is  by  so  many  wor 
shipped.  But  the  time  will  come,  when  one  good 
action  shall  be  of  more  value  than  mountains  of 
gold,  and  when  all  the  diamonds  in  the  world  will 
be  outweighed  by  a  kind  word.  How  enviable  is 
the  portion  of  such  a  man,  compared  with  him  who 
amasses  riches  at  the  expense  of  honor  and  fair 
dealing,  and  regardless  of  the  tears  of  the  orphan  or 
the  cries  of  the  widow,  heaps  up  dollars  to  canker 
in  his  soul,  and  wherewith  to  curse  his  offspring. 

Mr.  Gridley  has  not  been  a  careless  observer  of 
the  dealings  of  Providence  with  such  men,  and 
having,  during  his  whole  life,  enjoyed  uninterrupted 


x  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  223 

health,  that  greatest  of  all  earthly  blessings,  next  to 
a  quiet  conscience,  he  has  abundant  reason  to  be 
thankful. 

He  is  not  one  of  those  who,  regardless  of  the  se 
vere  penalty  of  "pride,  envy,  gout,  dyspepsia,  and 
a  thousand  imaginary  and  artificial  wants,  aspire 
after  elevated  station,  and  the  accumulation  of 
riches,  although  at  the  expense  of  trampling  under 
foot  every  social  duty,  every  moral  principle,  and 
even  at  the  risk  of  endangering  life  itself.  When 
has  ill-gotten  gain  descended  to  the  third  genera-' 
tion?  But  to  the  just  man,  how  cheering  are  the 
words  of  the  psalmist:  "I  have  been  young,  and 
now  am  old ;  yet  have  I  not  seen  the  righteous  for 
saken,  nor  his  seed  begging  bread." 

Mr.  Gridley's  father,  who,  during  the  latter  por 
tion  of  his  life,  resided  at  Sennett,  three  miles  from 
Auburn,  died  on  the  30th  of  December,  1843,  in 
the  eighty -fourth  year  of  his  age;  having  through 
his  long  life,  maintained  an  honorable  independ 
ence  and  an  unblemished  reputation.  He  was  ne 
ver  engaged  in  a  law  suit,  and  lived  in  peace  with 
all  men.  His  aged  widow  still  survives.  She  is 
now  in  her  eighty-fourth  year. 

The  winds  breathe  low — the  withering  leaf 

Scarce  whispers  from  the  tree ; 
So  gently  flows  the  parting  breath, 

When  good  men  cease  to  be. 


224 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


MRS.  EMMA  W1LLARD. 

The  name  of  this  distinguished  teacher  and 
authoress  will  cause  many  a  fair  cheek  to  glow,  and 
many  a  heart  to  throb  at  the  recollection  of  school 
days,  as 

In  their  green,  glowing  beauty 

They  move  before  our  gaze, 
Those  gentle,  pleasant  memories 

Of  bygone,  happy  days. 

O!  what  aching  it  is  to  be  young.  How  easy  the 
load  of  life  sits  upon  one ;  how  insignificant  are  its 
cares  to  its  enjoyments;  "every  moment  has  its 
flitting  dream ;  every  hour  its  teeming  pleasure,  if 
we  choose  to  seek  it ;  every  flower,  be  it  bitter  or 
sweet,  be  it  inodorous  or  be  it  perfumed,  has  its 
nectary  full  of  honeyed  drops,  ripe  for  the  lip  that 
will  vouchsafe  to  press  it." 

As  appears  from  a  brief  notice  of  her  some  years 
ago,  in  the  "Connecticut  Poets,"  Mrs.  Willard  is  the 
daughter  of  the  late  Samuel  Hart,  of  Berlin,  where 
she  was  born  in  February,  1787.  Her  father  was 
descended,  on  the  maternal  side,  from  Thomas 
Hooker,  the  first  minister  of  Hartford,  who  is  re 
garded  as  the  founder  of  the  state  of  Connecticut, 
he  having  led  the  colony  across  the  wilderness  from 
the  vicinity  of  Boston.  Her  paternal  ancestor  was 
Stephen  Hart,  a  deacon  of  Mr.  Hooker's  church, 
and  his  companion  across  the  wilderness. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  has  been  long  and  fa 
vorably  known  to  the  public,  by  her  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  female  education,  and  of  the  many  im 
provements  which  she  has  labored,  not  unsuccess 
fully,  to  introduce  in  its  various  departments.  The 
love  of  teaching  appears  to  have  been  a  ruling  pas- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  225 

sion  of  her  mind,  and  was  developed  in  her  early 
years.  After  receiving  the  advantages  of  the  com 
mon  schools,  and  enjoying  for  two  winters,  the  in 
struction  of  Doctor  Miner,  then  an  eminent  teacher 
in  the  Berlin  academy,  she,  at  sixteen  years  of  age, 
took  the  charge  of  a  district  school  in  her  native 
town.  The  following  year,  she  opened  a  select 
school,  and  in  the  summer  of  the  next  year,  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  Berlin  academy.  During 
this  period,  being  engaged  at  home  throughout  the 
summer  and  winter  in  the  capacity  of  instructress, 
she  managed  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  to  attend 
one  or  other  of  the  two  boarding  schools  at  Hartford. 

During  the  spring  of  1807,  Miss  Hart  received 
invitations  to  take  charge  of  academies  in  three 
different  states,  and  accepted  that  from  Westfield, 
Massachusetts.  She  remained  there  but  a  few 
weeks,  when  upon  a  second  and  more  pressing  in 
vitation  she  went  to  Middlebury  in  Vermont.  Here 
she  assumed  the  charge  of  a  female  academy,  which 
she  retained  for  two  years.  The  school  was  liber 
ally  patronized,  and  general  satisfaction  rewarded 
the  efforts  of  its  preceptress.  In  1809  she  resigned 
her  academy,  and  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Doctor  John  Willard,  then  marshal  of  the  district 
of  Vermont,  and  for  several  years,  a  leader  of  the 
republican  party  of  that  state. 

In  1814  Mrs.  Willard  was  induced  to  establish  a 
boarding  school  at  Middlebury,  when  she  formed  a 
determination  to  effect  an  important  change  in  fe 
male  education,  by  the  institution  of  a  class  of 
schools  of  a  higher  character  than  had  been  estab 
lished  in  the  country  before.  She  applied  herself 
assiduously  to  increase  her  own  personal  abilities 
as  a  teacher,  by  the  diligent  study  of  branches  with 
which  she  had  before  been  unacquainted.  She  in 
troduced  new  studies  into  her  school,  and  invented 
new  methods  of  teaching.  She  also  prepared  "  An 
29 


226  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

Address  to  the  Public,"  in  which  she  proposed  "  A 
Plan  for  improving-  Female  Education." 

Her  school  at  Middlebury  had  obtained  so  much 
celebrity,  that  she  had  many  boarding-  scholars  sent 
her  from  the  first  families  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
five  of  whom  were  from  Waterfbrd.  One  of  the 
five  was  an  adopted  daughter  of  General  P.  Van 
Schoonhoven,  the  lovely  and  interesting  Frances 
Davis,  (since  Mrs.  Kirkland,  and  now  no  more). 
The  general  wished  Mrs.  Willard  to  remove  her 
school  to  Waterford.  Her  husband,  who  it  is  said 
had  been  basely  treated  by  his  political  friends,  and 
who  moreover  warmly  sympathized  with  the  views 
of  his  lady  in  elevating  the  character  and  condition 
of  women  by  education,  was  perfectly  willing  to 
abandon  a  state  in  whose  foundation  he  had  been 
one  of  the  chief  laborers,  provided  the  way  should 
be  fairly  opened. 

General  Van  Schoonhoven,  on  inspecting  the 
"Plan,"  heartly  approved  it;  and  taking  a  °copy, 
exhibited  it  to  the  leading  men  of  Waterford,  among 
whom  was  the  Hon.  John  Cramer.  At  their  re 
commendation,  a  copy  was  sent  to  Governor  De 
Witt  Clinton.  The  latter  immediately  wrote  to 
Mrs.  Willard,  expressing  a  most  cordial  desire  that 
she  would  remove  her  institution  to  the  state  of 
New  York.  He  also  recommended  the  subject  of 
her  "Plan"  in  his  message  to  the  legislature.  The 
result  was,  the  passage  of  an  act  to  incorporate  the 
proposed  institute  at  Waterford,  and  another  to  give 
to  female  academies  a  share  of  the  literary  fund, 
being  it  is  believed,  the  first  law  ever  passed  by  any 
legislature  with  the  direct  object  of  improving  fe 
male  education. 

During  the  spring  of  1819  Mrs.  Willard  accord 
ingly  removed  to  Waterford,  and  opened  her  school 
early  in  the  ensuing  summer.  The  higher  mathe 
matics  were  introduced,  and  the  course  of  study 
was  made  sufficiently  complete  to  qualify  the  pupils 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  22? 

for  any  station  in  life.  (The  first  young  lady  who 
was  examined  publicly  in  geometry,  and  perhaps 
the  first  instance  in  the  country,  was  Miss  Cramer, 
since  Mrs.  Curtis.) 

In  the  spring  of  1821,  difficulties  attending  the 
securing  of  a  proper  building  for  the  school  in  Wa- 
terford,  Mrs.  Willard  again  determined  upon  a  re 
moval.  The  public  spirited  citizens  of  Troy  offered 
liberal  inducements;  and  in  May,  1821,  the  Troy 
female  seminary  was  opened  under  flattering  au 
spices,  and  abundant  success  crowned  the  inde 
fatigable  exertions  of  our  authoress.  Since  that 
period,  the  institute  has  been  well  known  to  the 
public,  and  the  name  of  Mrs.  Willard,  for  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  has  been  identified  with  her 
favorite  academy.  In  the  autumn  of  1830,  having 
been  left  a  widow  four  years,  and  being  now  in  im 
paired  health,  she  left  this  country  and  sailed  for 
France.  She  resided  in  Paris  for  several  months, 
and  from  thence  visited  England  and  Scotland, 
returning  in  the  following  year.  After  her  return 
she  published  a  volume  of  her  travels,  the  avails 
of  which  amounting  to  twelve  hundred  dollars,  were 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  female  education  in  Greece.  It 
may  be  proper  to  add,  that  she  devoted  the  avails 
of  one  or  two  other  publications  to  the  same  object. 

In  1838,  Mrs.  Willard  resigned  the  charge  of  the 
Troy  seminary,  and  returned  to  Hartford,  where  she 
prepared  for  publication  her  celebrated  Manual  of 
American  History,  for  the  use  of  schools.  The  me 
rits  of  this  work,  her  United  States  History,  and 
Universal  History,  have  been  attested  by  their  very 
general  use  in  seminaries  of  education. 

Since  1843,  she  has  completed  the  revision  of  hei 
historical  works,  revised  her  Ancient  Geography, 
and,  in  compliance  with  invitations,  has  written 
numerous  addresses,  on  different  occasions,  being 
mostly  on  educational  subjects.  Two  of  these  were 
written  by  request  of  the  Western  Literary  Institute 


228  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

and  College  of  Teachers,  and  were  read  at  annua, 
meetings  of  the  society,  at  Cincinnati,  one  in  1841, 
and  the  other  in  1843.  In  1845,  by  special  invita 
tion,  she  attended  the  convention  of  county  and 
town  superintendents,  held  at  Syracuse.  She  was 
invited  to  take  part  in  the  public  debate — declining 
that  honor,  the  gentlemen  of  the  convention,  to  the 
number  of  about  sixty,  called  on  her  at  her  lodg 
ings,  where  she  read  to  them  a  prepared  address. 
The  principal  topic  of  it  was,  "  that  woman,  now 
sufficiently  educated,  should  be  employed,  and  fur 
nished  by  the  men,  as  committees,  charged  with 
the  minute  cares  and  supervision  of  the  common 
schools;"  reasoning  from  the  premises,  that  to  man 
it  belongs  to  provide  for  the  children,  while  upon 
woman  it  is  incumbent  to  take  the  provision,  and 
apply  it  economically  and  judiciously.  These  sen 
timents  were  received  with  decided  approbation. 

In  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  1845,  Mrs.  Willard 
made,  with  great  satisfaction,  an  educational  tour, 
through  some  of  the  southern  counties  of  New 
York,  having  been  specially  invited  to  attend  the 
institutions  for  the  improvement  of  teachers  of  the 
common  schools.  •  At  Monticello,  Binghamton, 
Owego,  Cairo,  and  Rome,  she  aided  in  instructing 
no  less  than  five  hundred  teachers  of  these  schools, 
and  in  many  cases  her  partings  with  the  young  fe 
male  teachers  were  not  without  tears. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  places  where  she  went,  to 
instruct  teachers,  desiring  to  have  a  share  in  her 
visits,  at  their  request  she  attended  public  meetings 
of  both  sexes,  where  she  introduced  resolutions, 
which  were  unanimously  passed,  in  the  several 
counties,  and  aided  in  the  debates.  The  object 
was  to  forward  her  scheme,  of  giving  to  the  best 
educated,  and  most  able  women  of  the  country,  the 
charge  and  supervision  of  the  village  schools,  for 
little  children,  especially  of  those  things  appertain 
ing  to  the  conveniences  of  such  schools.  That  the 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  229 

teachers  of  these  schools  should  be  mostly  females, 
is  now  universally  agreed ;  but,  argued  she,  while 
the  young  women  can  be  the  teachers,  it  needs  the 
matrons,  acting  under  the  authority  of  the  men,  to 
aid  in  the  supervision. 

In  the  ensuing  winter  of  1846,  Mrs.  Willard  pre 
pared  for  the  press  a  work,  which  has  given  her 
more  fame  abroad,  and  perhaps  at  home,  than  any 
of  her  other  writings.  This  work,  which  was  pub 
lished  in  the  ensuing  spring,  both  in  New  York  and 
London,  developed  the  result  of  a  study  which  had 
intensely  occupied  her  at  times,  for  fourteen  'years. 
Its  title  is — A  Treatise  on  the  Motive  Powers  Avhich 
produce  the  Circulation  of  the  Blood.  And  its  ob 
ject  is,  nothing  less  than  to  introduce  and  to  estab 
lish  the  fact,  that  the  principal  motive  power  which 
produces  circulation  of  the  blood,  is  not,  as  has 
been  heretofore  supposed,  the  heart's  action,  that 
being  only  secondary,  but  that  the  principal  motive 
power  is  respiration,  operating  by  animal  heat,  and 
producing  an  effective  force  at  the  lungs,  Of  this 
work,  the  London  Critic  thus  speaks: 

"  We  have  here  an  instance  of  a  woman  under 
taking  to  discuss  a  subject  that  has  perplexed  and 
baffled  the  ingenuity  of  the  most  distinguished  ana 
tomists  and  physiologists,  who  have  considered  it, 
from  Hervey  down  to  Paxton;  and  what  is  more 
remarkable,  so  acquitting  herself  as  to  show,  that 
she  apprehended,  as  well  as  the  best  of  them,  the 
difficulties  which  beset  the  inquiry,  perceived  as 
quickly  as  they  did,  the  errors  and  incongruities  of 
the  theories  of  previous  writers;  and  lastly,  herself 
propounded  an  hypothesis  to  account  for  the  circu 
lation  of  the  blood,  and  the  heart's  action,  eminent 
ly  entitled  to  the  serious  attention  and  examination 
of  all  who  take  an  interest  in  physiological  sci 
ence." 

During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1846,  Mrs. 
Willard  made  the  tour  of  the  southern  and  western 


230  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

states,  visiting  every  one  of  them,  except  Texas. 
In  every  city,  she  met  her  former  pupils,  who  gave 
her  a  filial  welcome.  She  was  received  by  the 
principals  of  schools,  and  those  employed  in  educa 
tion,  as  an  "  educationalist;"  and,  as  such,  invited 
to  visit,  and  to  address  schools — where,  in  many 
instances,  she  received  public  testimonials  of  con 
sideration. 

In  addition  to  the  compends  of  history  which 
she  has  written,  she  has  invented,  for  the  purpose 
of  teaching  and  impressing  chronology  on  the  mind 
by  the  eye,  two  charts,  of  an  entirely  original  cha 
racter — one  called,  The  American  Chronographic 
for  American  History,  arid  the  other,  for  universal 
history,  called  the  Temple  of  Time.  In  the  latter, 
the  course  of  time,  from  the  creation  of  the  world, 
is  thrown  into  perspective,  and  the  parts  of  this  vast 
subject  wrought  into  unity,  and  the  most  distin 
guished  characters  which  have  appeared  in  the 
world,  are  set  down,  each  in  his  own  time.  This, 
in  the  chart,  is  better  arranged,  for  the  memory, 
than  would  be  that  of  the  place  of  a  city,  on  a  map 
of  the  world. 

Very  recently,  Mrs.  Willard  has  published  a 
pamphlet,  in  which  she  sets  forth  that  certain  griev 
ous  trespasses  have  been  committed  upon  her  lite 
rary  property.  It  proves  that  she  is  well  able  to 
verify  the  motto  of  the  celebrated  Scottish  chief— 
"  touch  and  I  pierce." 

The  poetical  compositions  of  Mrs.  Willard  are 
few,  and  are  chiefly  comprised  in  a  small  volume 
printed  in  1830.  The  following  will  serve  as  a  spe 
cimen.  It  was  written  while  on  board  the  packet 
Sully,  on  her  return  from  Europe,  in  1830;  and,  be 
ing  set  to  music  by  Count  de  Enoisctil,  a  fellow 
passenger,  was  sung  as  their  evening  hymn  during 
the  remainder  of  the  voyage.  It  was  afterwards 
set  to  music  by  the  celebrated  English  vocalist  and 


JAMES    R.    WHITING 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  231 

composer,  Knight,  and  sung  in  public,  by  him  and 
others : 

THE  OCEAN  HYMN. 

Rock'd  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep, 
I  lay  me  down  in  peace  to  sleep ; 
Secure  I  rest  upon  the  wave, 
For  thou,  0  Lord,  hast  power  to  save. 
I  know  thou  would'st  not  slight  my  call, 
For  thou  dost  mark  the  sparrow's  fall ; 
And  calm  and 'peaceful  is  my  sleep, 
Rock'd  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep. 

And  such  the  trust  that  still  were  mine, 
Tho'  stormy  winds  swept  o'er  the  brine, 
And  tho'  the  tempest's  fiery  breath 
Rous'd  me  from  sleep,  to  wreck  and  death: 
In  Ocean's  cave,  still  safe  with  Thee, 
The  germ  of  immortality ; 
And  calm  and  peaceful  is  my  sleep, 
Rock'd  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep. 


JAMES  R.  WHITING, 

Late  district-attorney  for  the  county  of  New  York, 
is  a  remarkable  instance  of  what  maybe  accom 
plished  by  untiring  perseverance.  Poor  in  early 
life,  he  adopted  the  profession  of  the  law,  and  has 
risen,  to  his  great  credit  and  honor,  to  his  present 
high  position  in  the  estimation  of  his  fellow  citi 
zens. 

As  a  speaker,  he  is  clear,  close,  pointed,  and 
occasionally  rather  bitter.  This,  however,  may  be 
attributed  to  ill  health,  to  which  most  lawyers,  who, 
owing  to  the  zealous  prosecution  of  their  profession, 
neglect  proper  bodily  exercise,  are  subject.  It  is 
difficult  for  a  man  to  exercise  forbearance  under 


232  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

the  goadings  of  opposing  counsel,  when  suffering 
from  indigestion.  In  olden  times,  the  lawyers  were 
not  wont  to  neglect  the  exercise  of  the  body.  For 
instance,  it  appears  from  Goodwin's  Social  History 
of  Great  Britain,  that  "dancing  formed  a  part  of 
their  education.  It  served  to  give  them  exercise, 
and  thus  promoted  mirth  and  cheerfulness,  amid 
their  monotonous  studies." 

In  the  reign  of  James  L,  the  barristers  used  to 
dance  before  the  judges;  and  the  judges  used  to 
dance  at  their  antique  masks  and  revels  at  their 
respective  inns. 

Mr.  Wynne,  in  his  notes  on  Eunomus,  mentions 
a  recent  case,  in  which  the  learned  judges  "  tripped 
it  merrily,  on  the  light  fantastic  toe ;"  the  last  revel, 
he  says,  which  -was  held  in  any  of  the  inns  of 
court,  was  at  the  Inner  Temple,  1722,  in  honor  of 
Mr.  Talbot,  when  he  took  leave  of  the  house,  of 
which  he  was  a  bencher,  on  having  the  great  seal 
delivered  to  him. 

After  dinner,  the  master  of  the  revels,  who  went 
first,  took  the  lord  chancellor  by  the  right  band, 
and  he,  with  his  left,  took  Mr.  Justice  Page,  who, 
joined  to  the  other  judges,  sergeants,  and  benchers 
present,  danced  round  about  the  coal  fire,  in  the 
middle  of  the  hall,  according  to  the  old  ceremony 
of  those  times — during  which  they  were  aided  in 
the  figure  by  Mr.  Cook,  the  prothonotary,  then  up 
wards  of  sixty  years  old. 


LELAND    HOWARD. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  233 


LELAND  HOWARD. 

The  ancestors  of  this  successful  baptist  preacher, 
were  descendants  of  the  Howards  of  England,  and 
were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  Plymouth 
colony.  His  grandfather,  Benjamin  Howard,  in 
1760,  removed  from  Massachusetts  to  Windham 
county,  Vermont,  where  Calvin  the  father  of  Le- 
land  was  born.  Calvin  was  the  youngest  of  nine 
teen  children.  He  married  Hannah  Willman,  who 
presented  him  with  no  less  than  twelve  "pledges," 
all  of  whom  in  due  time,  became  members  of  baptist 
churches.  Calvin  and  his  wife  were  the  first  bap 
tists  in  that  part  of  Vermont,  and  they  had  to  go 
twenty-two  miles  to  hear  their  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Aaron  Leland,  afterwards  speaker  of  the  Vermont 
legislature,  and  lieutenant  governor  of  the  state. 
After  him  their  third  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  named.  He  was  bom  at  Jamaica,  Windham 
county,  Vermont,  on  the  14th  of  October,  1794. 
The  circumstances  of  his  parents  were  not  such  as 
to  exempt  the  family  from  the  necessity  of  labor; 
but  Leland,  from  the  earliest  period,  manifested  a 
decided  repugnance  to  bodily  exertion  of  any  kind 
unless  connected  with  amusement,  much  preferring 
to  sit  in  some  corner  where  he  would  sing  by  the 
hour.  This  disposition  frequently  brought  him  into 
trouble.  On  one  occasion,  when  about  ten  years  of 
age,  he  was  taken  by  Calvin,  an  elder  brother,  to 
work  in  a  garden  at  some  distance  from  home. 
After  assigning  him  his- task  for  the  day,  Calvin 
would  leave  him,  but  generally  on  returning  in  the 
evening,  he  would  find  the  hoeing  and  weeding 
neglected,  and  Leland  lying  on  his  back  lustily 
singing  all  sorts  of  hymns  in  all  imaginable  metres. 
This  derilection  of  duty,  subjected  him  to  sundrv 
30 


234  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

practical  admonitions  from  the  hands  of  his  guardian 
brother,  which  however  effected  nothing  more  than 
causing  Leland  to  sing  in  a  different  key.  At  this 
day,  the  brothers,  between  whom  the  warmest 
affection  has  ever  subsisted,  cannot  revert  to  that 
incident  without  laughing  until  the  tears  roll  down 
their  cheeks. 

A  few  years  afterwards,  Leland  accompanied  Cal 
vin  upon  a  midnight  excursion  to  shoot  a  bear, 
which  was  in  the  practice  of  depredating  upon  a 
corn  field  about  that  hour.  They  took  with  them 
an  old  revolutionary  musket,  heavily  loaded  with 
slugs.  They  stationed  themselves  near  a  large  tree, 
and  before  it  became  quite  dark  had  abundance  of 
courage,  and  dared  Bruin  to  "  come  on  and  meet 
his  fate."  Towards  midnight  however,  a  distant 
sound  was  heard  resembling  the  crackling  of  dried 
branches,  whereon  Leland  crept  close  to  Calvin, 
whilst  the  latter  nervously  seized  the  old  musket 
and  felt  that  the  priming  was  good.  Unconscious 
of  the  presence  of  two  such  heroes  with  their  mu 
nitions  of  war,  the  bear 

"  True  as  the  needle  to  the  pole," 

was  steadily  advancing  to  the  corn  field.  At  this 
critical  juncture,  whether  with  a  design  of  enticing 
the  enemy  into  an  ambuscade  or  not  is  immaterial, 
but  Leland  ran  off  "  homeward  bound,"  like  light 
ning,  and  Calvin,  having  a  valid  excuse  in  the  de 
sertion  of  his  ally,  discharged  the  gun  in  the  air  and 
also  sought  safety  by  flight.  After  that  night,  there 
is  no  record  of  another  expedition  being  planned 
against  the  bear. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  peculiar  observances 
among  the  scholars  in  the  academies  of  that  day,  it 
may  be  interesting  to  advert  to  an  incident  which 
occurred  when  the  brothers,  for  a  brief  period,  were 
sent  to  a  school  in  their  vicinity.  On  entering  the 
play  ground,  they  observed  the  other  boys  in  deep 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  235 

consultation,  occasionally  casting  earnest  glances 
at  the  new  corners.  At  length  two  boys  about  their 
own  age,  advanced,  and  each  selecting  his  "  man," 
commenced  a  personal  attack.  This  being  promptly 
returned,  a  cry  of  "  enough,"  was  heard  from  the 
spectators,  whereon  an  explanation  took  place  to 
the  effect,  that  this  was  a  kind  of  "by-law,"  adopted 
in  order  to  test  the  mettle  of  new  "recruits,"  and 
with  a  view  of  ranking  them  accordingly.  A  gene 
ral  introduction  then  took  place,  and  Leland  and 
Calvin  became  a  part  of  the  "regular  army." 

So  jovial  and  frolicsome  was  the  disposition  of 
Leland,  and  so  grave  that  of  his  brother,  that  it  was 
predicted  the  latter  would  certainly  become  a  min 
ister,  while  such  a  profession  was  never  even  dreamt 
of  for  the  former.  But  Calvin  became  a  physician, 
arid  Leland  with  all  his  glee  became  a  "teacher  in 
the  church."  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  although  ex 
tremely  illiterate  as  regards  book  learning,  he  com 
menced  preaching.  His  great  natural  talents  soon 
attracted  the  attention  of  General  Abner  Forbes,  of 
Windsor,  who  sent  him  to  Boston  and  gave  him  a 
gratuitous  education. 

Had  every  man  thus  expended  a  small  portion 
of  his  superfluous  wealth,  how  much  talent  might 
have  been  discovered  for  the  church,  for  the  state, 
and  for  the  world,  among  those  untutored  multitudes 
of  our  race,  who  have  floated  unknown  and  un 
noticed  down  the  tide  of  time  ?  "  How  many  gems 
made  visible  by  their  glittering,  would  have  been 
collected  ?  How  many  mines  of  beauty  and  richness 
would  have  appeared?  How  many  Demosthenes 
might  have  lightened  and  thundered?  How  many 
Homers  soared  and  sung?  How  many  Newtons 
roused  into  action,  to  develope  the  laws  of  matter? 
How  many  Lockes  to  explore  the  regions  of  mind  ? 
How  many  Erskines  to  adorn  the  bar?  And  per 
haps  some  other  Washington,  whose  memory  has 
now  perished  in  obscurity,  might  have  been  freed 


236  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

from  the  factory  or  the  plough,   to  decide  the  fate 
of  battle,  and  sustain  the  weight  of  empire." 

In  1816  Mr.  Howard  became  pastor  of  a  baptist 
church  at  Windsor,  where  he  remained  for  six  years, 
until  his  removal  to  Troy,  New  York,  where  he 
preached  until  1829.  During  his  residence  at  the 
latter  city,  the  honorary  degree  of  A.  M.  was  con 
ferred  upon  him  by  Middlebury  college.  In  com 
pliance  with  the  wishes  of  his  early  friends,  he  sub 
sequently  returned  to  Windsor,  where  he  labored 
with  much  success  for  five  years.  His  next  field 
was  Brooklyn,  where  he  resided  until  1837.  He 
has  since  been  stationed  at  Minden,  Connecticut, 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  Norwich^Chenango  county, 
and  again  at  Troy,  where  a  beautiful  building  was 
erected  for  the  new  church  over  which  he  presided. 
He  is  at  present  preaching  at  Hartford,  New  York. 

A  striking  peculiarity  of  Mr.  Howard  is  an  aver 
sion  to  writing,  owing  to  which  he  can  scarcely 
ever  be  induced  to  execute  a  long  letter.  Rather 
than  fill  a  couple  of  pages,  he  would,  it  is  believed, 
take  a  long  walk  to  deliver  a  verbal  message.  In 
1822,  on  some  particular  occasion,  he  preached  be 
fore  the  Vermont  legislature.  The  sermon  gave  so 
much  satisfaction,  that  a  resolution  of  thanks  was 
adopted,  accompanied  by  a  request  for  a  copy  for 
publication.  But  preaching  was  one  thing,  and 
writing  another,  and  the  sermon  remained  among 
the  "  unwritten  things."  But  although  indolent  in 
regard  to  such  matters,  there  are  thousands  who 
will  bear  witness  of  his  energy  and  faithfulness  in 
the  discharge  of  his  professional  duties.  Here  no 
obstacles  can  deter  him.  Integrity,  unflinching 
perseverance,  benevolence,  and  a  spirit  of  self-sacri 
fice,  whenever  occasion  calls  for  it,  are  prominent 
traits  in  his  character.  He  has  a  voice  of  much 
compass,  strength  and  richness,  and  does  not  by 
any  means  rank  with  those  preachers,  who  are  al 
ways  lulling  their  hearers  into  a  refreshing  slumber. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


237 


His  sermons  too  are  short,  for  he,  unlike  many 
others,  believes  that  "  where  weariness  begins,  pro 
fit  ends."  He  does  not  spend  half  an  hour  before 
the  mirror  previous  to  entering  the  pulpit,  nor  is 
he  one  of  those  who  appear  to  think  the  arrange 
ment  of  their  hair,  the  adjustment  of  their  cravats, 
or  the  cut  of  their  coats,  of  more  importance 
than  the  salvation  of  an  immortal  soul.  Having 
none  of  the  pedantry  of  learning,  he  possesses  that 
sort  of  resistless  persuasiveness,  the  power  of  which 
is  "as  much  in  the  manner  of  saying,  as  in  the 
thing  said." 

In  1845  he  was  a  passenger  on  board  the  ill-fated 
steamer  Swallow  which  sunk  in  the  Hudson  river, 
and  where,  at  the  imminent  peril  of  his  life,  he 
rescued  several  persons  from  a  watery  grave. 

In  his  domestic  relations  he  is  particularly  happy, 
having  an  amiable  wife  and  eight  children.  James 
L,  Howard,  the  eldest,  married  Miss  Anna  Gilbert, 
the  accomplished  daughter  of  the  Hon.  I.  B.  Gilbert, 
of  Hartford,  where,  with  several  other  members  of 
the  family,  they  at  present  reside.  Lucy,  the  eldest 
daughter,  married  Charles  Miller,  Esq.,  of  Moriah, 
Essex  county,  New  York. 


238  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


CALVIN  HOWARD, 

Brother  of  the  subject  of  the  preceding  sketch,  at 
the  age  of  nineteen,  left  home,  with  a  view  of  find 
ing  an  eligible  location  for  teaching  school.  While 
getting  some  refreshment,  at  a  tavern  in  Hobart, 
Delaware  county,  he  attracted  the  notice  of  Doctor 
Gregory,  of  that  place,  who,  after  a  long  conversa 
tion,  engaged  him  as  a  teacher  in  his  family.  Gre 
gory,  although  an  eccentric  character,  was  an  able 
physician.  With  him,  Howard  studied  medicine, 
and,  by  intense  application,  soon  qualified  himself 
for  practice.  He  subsequently  married  Sarah,  the 
sister  of  his  preceptor,  and  shortly  afterward  re 
moved  to  Haverstraw,  on  the  Hudson,  where  he  re 
ceived  liberal  encouragement  in  his  profession. 

While  at  Haverstraw,  he,  with  others  of  his 
neighbors,  was  called  down  to  New  York  city,  to 
repel  a  threatened  invasion  of  the  British.  So  sud 
den  was  the  summons,  that  he  had  to  leave  his 
horse  behind  him,  at  some  distance  from  home. 
During  the  few  days  he  remained  in  the  city,  he 
was  nearly  killed  with  the  camp  fare ;  which,  ac 
cording  to  the  testimony  of  numerous  sufferers,  was 
calculated  to  do  more  execution  than  the  balls  of 
the  enemy. 

One  night  the  company  to  which  he  belonged 
were  quartered  in  a  large  building,  in  sight  of  the 
East  river,  in  hourly  expectation  of  the  descent  of 
the  British.  While  there,  a  short,  fat  Dutch  officer, 
the  market  valve  of  whose  courage  was  not  much 
above  par,  strutted  up  to  the  door,  and  waving  his 
long  sword,  shouted — 

"Come,  poys,  don't  ye  pe  afeard.  Look  at  me! 
I  aint  a  pit  more  afeard  than  as  if  I  was  up  to 
home !" 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  239 

A  representation  being  made  to  the  right  quarter, 
that  the  village  of  Haverstraw  was  left  without  a 
single  doctor,  a  fact  which  jeopardized  the  safety  of 
numerous  embryo  patriots,  Howard  was  permitted 
to  return. 

In  1817,  the  subject  of  our  sketch  returned  to 
Hobart,  where  he  practised  medicine  for  upwards 
of  thirty  years.  A  few  years  since,  his  first  wife,  a 
lady  of  great  energy  of  character,  after  a  lingering 
illness,  paid  the  debt  of  nature.  On  a  grassy  hil 
lock,  nestled  among  the  green  mountains  of  that 
delightful  region,  repose  her  remains,  in  the  same 
grave  with  her  grand-daughter,  a  fair-haired  girl,  who 
entered  the  world  of  spirits  exactly  twelve  months 
after  the  death  of  the  former.  A  few  weeks  pre 
vious  to  her  departure,  and  while  in  perfect  health, 
Ernrna  desired  to  be  taken  to  see  the  bed  on  which 
"grandma  died."  Her  wish  was  gratified,  whereon 
she  said  :  "  There,  that  will  do;  now  take  me  home;" 
and  very  shortly,  amidst  the  howling  blast  of  a  win 
ter  day,  the  earth  was  dug  from  the  coffin  of 
"grandma,"  and  the  bodies  of  the  two  were  re 
united  in  the  icy  arms  of  death.  But,  though  cold 
was  their  pillow,  and  the  icicles  were  the  drapery 
of  their  couch,  the  eye  of  faith  could  discern  their 
spirits  in  the  eternal  sunshine  of  Eden,  rejoicing 
amidst  the  "  great  multitude  of  angels,  which  no 
man  can  number,"  where  there  is  no  pain,  because 
there  is  no  sin,  and  where  ransomed  millions, 
through  the  sufferings  of  the  Savior,  triumphantly 
exclaim:  "O  Death,  where  is  thy  victory?  6 
Grave,  where  is  thy  sting?" 

Very  recently,  Dr.  Howard  married  Emeline  P. 
Ten  Broeck,  a  highly  accomplished  lady,  who  was 
for  many  years  preceptress  of  the  Female  academy, 
at  Delhi,  in  which  place  they  now  reside. 

Dr.  Howard  was  one  of  the  earliest  pioneers  in 
the  glorious  cause  of  temperance;  and,  after  years 
of  indomitable  perseverance,  through  violent  oppo- 


240  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

sition,  involving  great  pecuniary  sacrifice,  he  has 
lived  to  see  the  almost  universal  triumph  of  his 
principles.  From  early  youth  he  has  been  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  he  has  held  many 
offices  of  honor  and  trust.  By  his  first  wife,  he  had 
six  children,  who  are  all  living. 


JOHN  W.  EDMONDS. 

The  father  of  this  distinguished  jurist  was  bom 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  at  what  is  now  the  corner 
of  William  and  Liberty  streets,  on  the  27th  of  Au 
gust,  1760.  When  the  war  of  the  revolution  broke 
out,  he  was  a  student,  at  college,  in  Rhode  Island. 
He,  however,  immediately  left  his  studies,  and  en 
listed  in  the  army  as  a  private  soldier.  In  various 
capacities,  he  served  during  the  whole  war,  having 
risen  from  the  ranks  to  an  ensigncy,  and  finally  to 
an  assistant  commissary.  He  was  at  the  battles  of 
Monmouth,  Yorktown,  etc.  On  the  establishment 
of  peace,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  he  started  to 
seek  his  fortune,  having  nothing  but  a  horse,  sad 
dle,  bridle,  two  blankets,  and  a  little  continental 
money.  In  1784,  during  his  wanderings,  he  arrived 
at  the  site  of  what  is  now  the  city  of  Hudson,  then 
called  Claverack  landing.  There,  as  one  of  the 
few  settlers,  he  opened  a  small  store,  in  which  bu 
siness  he  was  found  by  the  emigrants  from  Nan- 
tucket  and  Martha's  vineyard,  who  purchased  the 
land  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  city.  He  was 
at  one  time  a  member  of  the  assembly,  and  high 
sheriff  of  the  county,  and  he  continued  in  trade 
until  the  war  of  1812,  when  he  again  entered  the 
service  of  his  country.  He  was  soon  appointed 
paymaster-general  of  the  militia,  in  which  office  he 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  241 

continued  for  several  years  after  the  termination  of 
the  war. 

He  died  at  Hudson,  in  1826,  and  within  a  few 
years,  a  beautiful  monument  has  arisen  in  its  grave 
yard,  erected  to  his  memory  by  his  sons.  His  wife, 
the  mother  of  the  judge,  was  Lydia  Worth,  daugh 
ter  of  Thomas  Worth,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
Hudson.  She  was  a  descendant  of  William  Worth, 
who  emigrated  from  Devonshire,  England,  in  1640, 
and  settled  in  Nantucket.  From  this  common 
stock  have  descended,  Major-General  Worth,  of  the 
United  States  army;  G.  A.  Worth,  Esq.,  president 
of  the  New  York  City  bank;  and  the  Olcott  and 
Edmonds  families. 

After  the  death  of  Gen.  Edmonds,  his  widow  re 
sided  chiefly  with  her  son,  the  judge,  until  she  died, 
on  the  20th  of  November,  1841.  She  was  a  mem 
ber  of  the  society  of  Friends,  and  instilled  into  her 
children  many  of  the  tenets  of  that  respected  sect, 
which  have  evidently  influenced  their  conduct 
through  life. 

Judge  Edmonds  was  born  in  the  city  of  Hudson, 
on  the  13th  of  March,  1799.  His  early  education 
was  at  private  schools,  and  at  the  academy  at  Hud 
son,  where  he  prepared  for  college.  In  October, 
1814,  he  entered  the  sophomore  class,  of  Williams 
college,  Massachusetts,  in  company  with  John 
Birdsall,  afterwards  circuit  judge  of  the  eighth  cir 
cuit,  and  attorney-general  of  Texas.  In  1815,  he 
solicited  his  dismissal  from  the  college,  and  entered 
Union  college,  at  Schenectady,  where  he  graduated 
in  July,  1816.  His  share  in  the  exercises  of  the 
commencement,  was  the  Fall  of  Poland.  On  leav 
ing  college,  he  began  the  study  of  the  law,  at 
Cooperstown,  with  George  Monell,  Esq.,  afterwards 
chief  justice  of  Michigan.  After  remaining  at  that 
place  about  six  months,  he  returned  to  Hudson, 
where  he  studied  two  years,  in  the  office  of  Monell 
&  Van  Buren. 
31 


242  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

In  the  fall  of  1819,  he  entered  the  office  of  Mar 
tin  Van  Buren,  in  Albany.  He  continued  with  the 
ex-president,  residing  in  his  family,  until  May, 
1820,  when  he  returned  to  Hudson,  and  entered 
upon  the  practice  of  the  law.  He  continued  at 
Hudson,  until  his  removal  to  New  York,  in  Novem 
ber,  1837. 

Inheriting  the  military  disposition  of  his  father, 
we  find  the  judge,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  a  lieute 
nant  in  the  militia,  which  commission  he  held  for 
about  fifteen  years,  when  he  obtained  the  command 
of  his  regiment.  This  office  he  resigned,  in  1828, 
on  being  appointed,  by  De  Witt  Clinton,  recorder 
of  Hudson.  To  this  day,  throughout  the  old  coun 
ty  of  Columbia,  the  judge  is  addressed  as  colonel, 
military  honors  appearing  invariably  to  take  prece 
dence  of  all  others. 

At  an  early  age,  he  took  an  active  part  in  poli 
tics,  ranking  himself  as  a  democrat,  and  the  first 
vote  he  ever  gave  was  for  Daniel  D.  Tompkiris, 
when  he  ran  for  governor,  against  De  Witt  Clinton^ 

In  1830,  the  judge  was  elected  by  the  democrats 
of  Columbia,  to  the  assembly,  in  which  body  he 
soon  became  a  leading  and  influential  member. 

In  the  fall  of  1831,  he  was  elected  to  the  state 
senate,  receiving,  in  his  district,  an  unprecedented 
majority  of  over  7,500  votes. 

In  the  senate,  he  served  four  years,  during  the 
whole  of  which  time,  in  addition  to  other  duties,  he 
was  a  member  of  the  judiciary  committee,  and  for 
the  last  three  years,  chairman  of  the  bank  commit 
tee. 

It  was  also  during  his  senatorial  term  that  the 
subject  of  nullification,  arising  out  of  the  forcible 
resistance  of  South  Carolina  to  the  tariff  laws,  oc 
cupied  the  public  mind.  A  joint  committee  of  the 
two  houses  was  raised  on  the  matter,  and  the  judge 
was  a  member  on  the  part  of  the  senate.  An  ela 
borate  report,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Van  Buren,  then 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  243 

vice-president  of  the  United  States,  was  made  by 
Mr.  N.  P.  Tallmadge,  the  chairman  of  the  commit 
tee.  About  that  time,  Mr.  Tallmadge  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  senate,  and  opposition  to  his 
report  on  nullification  unexpectedly  arising,  the  de 
fence  of  it  devolved  upon  Judge  Edmonds.  The 
debate  lasted  more  than  a  week,  during  which  time 
the  judge  stood  alone  against  six  of  the  most  pro 
minent  senators  on  the  other  side.  The  result  was 
the  adoption  of  the  report  by  an  overwhelming 
majority. 

In  1834  the  judge  was  chairman  of  a  joint  com 
mittee  of  the  two  houses,  to  whom  was  referred  the 
subject  of  the  United  States  bank,  which  its  op 
ponents  alleged  was  creating  pecuniary  distress, 
with  a  view  of  extorting  from  congress  a  renewal 
of  its  charter. 

In  the  summer  of  1836  Judge  Edmonds  was  ap 
pointed  by  General  Jackson,  a  commissioner  to 
carry  into  effect  the  treaty  with  the  Ottawa  and 
Phippewa  tribes  of  Indians.  This  business  took 
him  during  the  summer  to  Michilimackinac,  where 
for  nearly  two  months,  he  was  encamped  with  over 
six  hundred  natives.  In  the  ensuing  year  he  re 
ceived  appointments  in  relation  to  other  tribes,  but 
in  the  fall  of  1837  he  relinquished  them  and  removed 
from  Hudson  to  New  York,  where  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  law.  He  almost  immediately,  found 
himself  in  an  extensive  and  profitable  business 
among  the  merchant  princes  of  the  commercial 
emporium. 

In  April,  1843,  without  any  solicitation  on  his 
part,  the  judge  was  appointed  by  Governor  Bouck, 
an  inspector  of  the  state  prison  at  Sing  Sing.  It 
was  with  much  hesitation  that  he  accepted  this 
unthankful  task.  The  labor  was  indeed  Herculean. 
Scarcely  any  discipline  was  maintained  in  the  prison, 
and  the  female  prisoners  had  the  entire  control  of  their 
officers;  hundreds  of  the  males  were  entirely  idle, 


244  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

and  the  earnings  fell  short  of  the  expenses  by  over 
$40,000.  But  within  eighteen  months,  a  great 
change  was  effected,  and  the  female  portion  of  the 
prison  was  brought  into  complete  subjection.  Strict 
discipline  was  introduced  and  maintained  among 
the  males,  and  the  annual  deficiency  in  the  revenue 
was  reduced  to  less  than  a  tenth  part  of  the  former 
sum. 

This  task,  however,  was  easy  in  comparison  with 
a  reform  of  a  different  character  which  he  sought 
to  introduce.  He  found,  that  for  more  than  fifteen 
years,  the  system  of  government  which  had  prevail 
ed  in  our  state  prisons,  was  one  purely  of  force ;  and 
where  no  sentiment  was  sought  to  be  awakened  in 
the  breast  of  the  prisoner  but  that  of  fear,  and  no 
duty  exacted  from  him  but  that  of  implicit  obedi 
ence.  No  instrument  of  punishment  was  used  but 
the  whip,  which  had  the  effect  of  arousing  only  the 
worst  passions  of  both  convicts  and  officers — a 
practice  of  abominable  cruelty,  long  engrafted  upon 
our  penitentiary  system  —  revolting  to  humanity, 
and  destructive  to  all  hope  of  reforming  the  prisoner. 
So  thoroughly  had  it  become  engrafted,  that  the 
most  experienced  officers  insisted  that  there  was  no 
other  mode  by  which  order  could  be  kept.  Besides, 
they  found  it  was  then  so  very  easy  to  govern  in 
that  way. 

Passion,  prejudice  and  selfishness,  all  combined 
to  place  obstacles  in  the  way  of  this  proposed  reform, 
and  its  progress  was  very  slow.  Yet  it  steadily  ad 
vanced,  and  when  in  1845,  the  judge  resigned  the 
office  of  inspector,  his  system  was  in  the  full  tide 
of  experiment.  It  has  been  continued  by  his  suc 
cessors  to  the  present  time.  It  has  also  been  intro 
duced  into  the  state  prisons  at  Auburn  and  Clinton, 
and  is  now  the  governing  principle  in  all  our  state 
penitentiaries.  With  a  view  of  carrying  out  his 
plan,  in  December,  1844,  he  instituted  a  "Prison 
Discipline  society,"  the  object  of  which  is  the  reform 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  245 

of  prison  government  and  the  aiding  of  prisoners,  on 
their  discharge,  to  lead  honest  lives.  This  society 
is  in  very  successful  operation,  and  enjoys  a  large 
share  of  public  confidence.  How  great  an  amount 
of  good  can  be  accomplished  by  a  single  philan 
thropic  individual ;  and  for  this  one  movement  of 
the  judge,  how  many  poor  wretches  will  rise  up 
and  call  him  blessed  !  For  this  the  tear  of  gratitude 
shall  fall  upon  his  grave,  while  angels  proclaim 
that,  "  he  who  turneth  one  sinner  from  the  error  of 
his  way,  shall  shine  as  the  stars  forever."  "  Man 
dies,  but  not  one  of  his  acts  ever  dies.  Each  per 
petuated  and  prolonged  by  interminable  results, 
affects  some  beings  in  every  age  to  come." 

On  the  18th  of  February,  1845,  Mr.  Edmonds  re 
ceived  the  appointment  of  circuit  judge  of  the  first 
circuit,  in  the  place  of  Judge  Kent,  who  had  re 
signed.  That  office  he  held  until  June,  1847,  when 
he  was  elected  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court. 

In  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  circuit  judge,  he 
was  always  fearless  and  independent,  reminding  us 
of  the  famous  Matthew  Hale.  A  most  extraordi 
nary  instance  of  this  was  exhibited  at  the  anti-rent 
trials  in  Columbia  county,  in  September,  1845.  The 
counsel  employed  in  those  trials,  had  been  engaged 
in  the  same  cases  at  the  circuit  in  the  March  pre 
ceding,  and  had  then  manifested  no  little  combat- 
iveness.  They  displayed  the  same  warmth  before 
Judge  Edmonds,  and  carried  it  so  far  as  to  come  to 
blows  in  open  court.  The  offenders  were  gentlemen 
of  high  standing,  and  personal  friends  of  the  judge, 
and  both  at  once  apologized  for  their  contempt  of 
court.  But  the  judge,  with  great  promptness,  com 
mitted  them  both  to  prison,  and  adjourned  his  court 
with  the  remark,  that  it  was  not  his  fault  that  the 
cause  of  public  justice  was  thus  interrupted.  Per 
haps  none  regretted  this  momentary  outbreak  more 
than  the  parties  themselves,  whose  manners  in  pri 
vate  life  are  courteous  in  the  extreme 


246  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

This  event  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention 
throughout  the  Union,  and  was  noticed  by  European 
papers  as  "  evidence  of  advancing  civilization  in 
America."  The  most  gratifying  feature  of  the  case 
was,  that  it  did  not  disturb  the  personal  good  feel 
ing  which  had  previously  existed  between  the  par 
ties  engaged  in  it. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  judiciary,  under  the 
new  state  constitution,  Judge  Edmonds  was  nomi 
nated  for  justice  of  the  supreme  court  by  the  bar  of 
New  York,  and  by  the  Tammany  party,  and  was 
elected  by  a  majority  exceeding  any  of  his  col 
leagues.  This  result  cannot  but  be  gratifying  not 
only  to  him,  but  to  the  public,  inasmuch  as  during 
his  judgesbip  he  had  made  several  decisions  that 
warred  upon  popular  prejudice,  and  immediately 
before  his  election  he  had,  with  others  of  the  de 
mocratic  party,  protested  against  the  admission  of 
Texas  into  the  Union,  as  eminently  calculated  to 
lead  to  a  war  with  Mexico  arid  to  perpetuate  the 
extension  of  slavery.  Subsequent  events  have  jus 
tified  the  sagacity  which  marked  that  act,  while 
the  act  itself  has  subjected  the  gentlemen  engaged 
in  it  to  much  obloquy  and  censure  from  their  politi 
cal  associates.  This  proceeding  was,  however,  re 
buked  in  his  triumphant  election  by  the  public,  who 
honored  him  for  his  independence  of  character. 

The  judge  has  one  brother,  Francis,  cashier  of 
the  Mechanics'  bank  in  New  York,  and  somewhat 
distinguished  as  an  artist.  He  has  also  three  sisters, 
two  of  whom  reside  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and 
the  third,  the  wife  of  Colonel  Webb  of  the  United 
States  army,  is  living  in  Illinois. 

The  family  of  the  judge  consists  of  three  daugh 
ters,  two  of  whom  are  married. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  247 


ERASTUS  ROOT. 

The  late  General  Root,  whose  name  has  been  so 
long  identified  with  the  history  of  our  country,  was 
a  native  of  Hebron,  Connecticut.  He  was  born  on 
the  16th  of  March,  1773.  The  maiden  name  of  his 
mother  was  Baldwin.  His  father,  William  Root, 
born  on  the  31st  of  August,  1731,  was  also  a  native 
of  that  place.  His  grandfather,  whose  name  also 
was  William,  was  born  at  Northampton,  Massachu 
setts,  in  1695.  The  latter  went  to  Hebron,  with  his 
father,  Jacob  Root,  who  removed  with  his  family 
to  that  place,  in  1705.  Jacob  was  a  native  of  Hart 
ford,  from  which  town  he,  with  his  father,  Thomas 
Root,  removed  to  Northampton. 

Erastus  pursued  his  collegiate  education  at  Dart 
mouth  college,  teaching  school  in  the  winter 
months.  He  graduated  at  that  institution,  with 
high  honor,  at  a  very  early  age.  He  studied  law 
with  Sylvester  Gilbert,  a  distinguished  lawyer  of 
Hebron.  He  was  licensed  to  practise  law  in  the 
spring  of  1796.  In  that  year,  he  removed  to  Dela 
ware  county,  New  York,  (then  Otsego,  west  of  the 
Delaware  river,  and  Ulster  on  the  east.)  He  settled 
in  Franklin,  in  which  town  was  then  included  the, 
present  villages  of  Delhi  and  Walton,  with  the  view 
of  practising  his  profession. 

The  following  year,  being  then  only  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of 
New  York,  as  a  representative  from  the  county  of 
Delaware.  From  that  time  up  to  1843,  he  repre 
sented  the  county  in  various  ways,  in  both  branches 
of  the  legislature,  in  congress,  and  in  the  constitu 
tional  convention  of  1821. 

In  1801,  he  was  in  the  state  senate,  and  was  one 
of  the  members  who  voted  for  the  Jefferson  electors 


248  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

(electors  for  president  and  vice-president  being  then 
chosen  by  the  legislature).  In  1823,  and  1824,  he 
was  president  of  the  senate,  during  which  time  he 
was  lieutenant-governor  of  the  state. 

His  legislative  career  may  be  summed  up  as  fol 
lows  :  Member  of  the  assembly,  eleven  years,  three 
of  which  he  was  speaker;  member  of  congress,  nine 
years;  state  senator,  eight  years;  and  president  of 
the  senate,  and  lieutenant-governor,  two  years; 
also,  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of 
1821,  one  year.  It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  during 
his  first  two  legislative  terms,  he  was  the  youngest 
member  of  the  legislature, ;  and,  during  the  last  two 
years,  he  was  the  oldest  member ! 

He  was  appointed,  by  the  legislature,  one  of  the 
persons  to  revise  the  laws  of  the  state ;  but,  it  is  be 
lieved,  he  resigned  before  the  revisers  met.  His 
term,  as  state  senator,  expired  in  1843,  on  which  he 
retired  from  public  life. 

Mr.  Hammond,  speaking  of  Gen.  Root,  in  1813, 
says  of  him: 

"Though  a  little  uncouth  in  his  manner,  and 
rough,  and  I  fear  somewhat  rude  in  his  expressions, 
his  wit  was  keen,  and  his  sarcasms  severe  and  bit 
ing.  He  seized  with  great  force  and  effect  upon 
the  prominent  points,  and  especially  those  points 
most  likely  to  make  an  impression  on  the  popular 
ear,  and  pressed  them  with  a  power  almost  irresist 
ible.  His  illustrations  were  exceedingly  clear  and 
well  chosen,  and  his  attacks  upon  his  opponents 
were  severe  in  the  extreme.  From  the  year  1798, 
down  to  this  period,  he  had  been  almost  continual 
ly  a  member  of  the  state  or  national  legislature,  and 
possessing,  as  he  did,  a  most  retentive  memory,  he 
was  perfectly  at  home  upon  all  matters  relating  to 
the  action  of  goverment,  and  the  operations  of  the 
two  great  political  parties.  He  had  much  parlia 
mentary  tact,  and  although  uncouth  in  his  manner, 
he  was  a  man  of  correct  literary  taste,  and  highly 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  249 

x 

cultivated  intellect.     He  was  a  scholar,  and  a  good 
and  ripe  one." 

He  received  his  appointment  as  colonel,  in  1803; 
that  of  brigadier-general,  in  1808;  and  that  of  ma 
jor-general,  in  1816.  The  latter  office  he  resigned 
in  1824. 

On  the  4th  of  October,  1806,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Elizabeth  Stockton,  of  Walton, 
Delaware  county,  who  is  still  living.  They  had 
five  children;  two  sons,  Charles  and  William;  and 
three  daughters,  Julianne,  Elizabeth  and  Augusta. 
William  entered  the  army  as  a  lieutenant;  and  is 
now  settled,  with  his  family,  as  a  farmer,  in  Wis 
consin.  Charles  was  a  midshipman  in  the  United 
States  navy,  and  died  at  Rio  Janeiro,  of  the  typhus 
fever.  Julianne  is  the  wife  of  the  Hon.  S.  R.  Hob- 
bie,  first  assistant  postmaster-general.  Elizabeth 
was  married  to  Henry  L.  Robinson,  Esq. ;  and  Au 
gusta,  who  was  married  to  William  Fuller,  Esq.,  of 
Georgia,  died  in  Alabama,  on  the  llth  of  Decem 
ber,  1838. 

During  the  latter  portion  of  his  life,  while  travel 
ing,  on  several  occasions  he  narrowly  escaped 
death ;  but  his  time  had  not  arrived.  The  shafts  of 
death  may  fly  thick,  but  their  aim  is  directed  by 
Omnipotence.  At  best,  there  is  but  a  step  between 
us  and  the  spirit-land;  the  bursting  of  a  boiler,  the 
upsetting  of  a  stage,  or  a  crumb  of  food  that  we  swal 
low,  may  be  as  fatal  as  the  cannon  ball.  It  has 
been  truly  remarked,  that  the  small  things  of  life 
are  often  of  more  importance  than  the  great,  the 
slow  than  the  quick,  the  still  than  the  t  noisy.  "  The 
castle,  and,  the  palace,  and  the  church,  stand  for 
years  the  raging  of  the  wind,  the  beating  of  the 
rain,  the  red  bolt  of  the  lightning,  yet  crumble  down 
beneath  the  quiet  touch  of  time,  without  any  one 
seeing  where  and  when  the  fell  destroyer  was  at 
work." 

For  some  time  previous  to  his  death,  Gen.  Root 
32 


250  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

\ 

seemed  aware  of  his  approaching  dissolution.  He 
felt  that  he  could  remain  this  side  the  grave  but  a 
short  time.  Indeed,  it  was  a  theme  upon  which 
he  frequently  dwelt,  and  with  much  earnestness 
and  feeling.  We  well  remember,  says  N.  Bowne, 
Esq.,  of  the  Delaware  Express,  a  conversation 
which  passed  between  us,  in  our  office,  a  day  or 
two  before  he  started  on  his  journey.  He  said  he 
was  leaving  Delhi,  in  all  probability,  for  the  last 
time — that  he  had  passed  the  age  allotted  to  man, 
three  score  years  and  ten,  and  was  already  a  proba 
tioner  some  four  years.  He  said  he  felt  his  bodily 
strength  failing  very  fast,  and  that  he  believed  the 
time  for  his  departure  was  near  at  hand.  With  this 
solemn  reality  strongly  impressed  upon  his  mind, 
he  spent  some  time  in  closing  up  his  affairs — nor 
ceased  till  his  earthly  house  was  set  in  order. 
While  looking  upon  the  venerable  face  of  our  de 
parted  friend,  on  Monday,  how  forcibly  were  we 
reminded  of  the  last  time  we  met,  but  about  two 
weeks  before — when  he  handed  us  a  MS.  he  desired 
to  be  published,  saying:  "  It  is,  in  all  probability, 
sir,  the  last  document  I  shall  ever  prepare  for  the 
public  press."  He  was  right. 

He  died  in  the  city  of  New  York,  at  the  residence 
of  his  nephew,  George  St.  John,  Esq.,  on  Thursday 
morning,  the  24th  of  December,  1846,  aged  seven 
ty-three  years  and  nine  months.  His  principal 
complaint  was  inflammation  of  the  kidneys.  His 
illness  was  short,  and  he  was  soon  removed  from 
time  into  eternity.  His  remains  were  carried  to 
Delhi,  which  place  he  had  left,  with  his  wife,  two 
weeks  previously,  with  the  intention  of  spending 
the  winter  at  Washington. 


GEORGE  FOLSOM 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  251 


GEOKGE  FOLSOM. 

This  eminent  historical  scholar,  whose  term  as  a 
state  senator  from  the  district  embracing  New  York 
city,  has  very  recently  expired,  is  descended  from 
a  family  of  the  name  at  Exeter,  New  Hampshire, 
who  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  that  beautiful 
village,  about  two  centuries  ago.  The  late  General 
Nathaniel  Folsom,  so  highly  distinguished  in  the 
war  of  the  revolution,  is  of  the  same  family. 

Mr.  Folsom  graduated  at  Cambridge  university, 
in  1822,  and  studied  law  in  the  office  of  the  Hon. 
E.  Shepley,  at  Saco,  near  Portland,  Me.  He  com 
menced  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Worcester, 
Mass.  He  subsequently  removed  to  the  city  of 
New  York,  his  present  residence,  where  in  con 
nexion  with  his  professional  duties,  he,  as  a  mem 
ber  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  has  devoted 
a  large  portion  of  his  time  to  the  pursuit  of  his  fa 
vorite  study,  American  history. 

He  married  the  daughter  of  Benjamin  Winthrop 
Esq.,  a  lineal  descendant  of  John  Winthrop,  the 
first  governor  of  Massachusetts.  The  mother  of  his 
accomplished  lady  was  a  daughter  of  Peter  Stuy- 
vesant  Esq.,  and  the  fourth  generation  from  the 
Dutch  governor,  -whose  estates  are  still  in  the  pos 
session  of  his  descendants. 


252  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


PAUL  SPOFFOKD, 

One  of  the  "merchant  princes"  of  New  York,  is 
a  descendant  of  John  Spofford,  one  of  those  who, 
in  consequence  of  their  religious  tenets,  came  over 
with  the  Rev.  Ezekiel  Rogers  to  Massachusetts  in 
1638.  John  was  the  first  settler  of  New  Rowley, 
now  Georgetown,  Massachusetts. 

The  early  life  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was 
spent  upon  the  farm,  a  portion  of  which  has  de 
scended  to  him  from  his  ancestor.  But  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two,  his  taste  inclining  him  to  trade,  he 
obtained  a  situation  in  a  store  at  Salem,  New  Hamp 
shire.  After  remaining  there  and  at  Haver]  all, 
Massachusetts,  for  about  two  years,  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  Thomas  Tileston,  at  that  time 
editor  of  the  Haverhill  Gazette,  and  in  1818  went 
to  New  York  city,  where  he  has  since  continued  to 
reside. 

Mr.  Spofford  has  been  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  the  niece  and  ward  of  the  late  Hon.  Jere 
miah  Nelson,  member  of  congress  from  Newbury- 
port.  His  present  amiable  lady  is  the  daughter  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Spring,  of  New  York. 

What  an  encouraging  example  does  the  career 
of  this  eminent  merchant  afford  to  young  men.  It 
shows  that  perseverance,  united  with  integrity,  will 
accomplish  almost  every  thing  within  the  sphere 
of  human  effort. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


253 


MRS.  BAILEY, 

The  celebrated  heroine  of  Groton,  Connecticut,  is 
still  living  at  that  place,  where  she  is  post  mistress 
for  life.  It  appears  that  the  industrious  editor  of 
the  Democratic  Review,  recently  visited  the  aged 
"  mother,"  from  whom  he  gathered  some  interest 
ing  particulars. 

She  distinguished  herself  greatly  in  the  days  of 
the  revolution,  but  more  particularly  in  the  last  war 
with  England.  On  the  13th  of  July,  1813,  the  Bri 
tish  made  demonstrations  of  an  intention  to  land, 
and  attack  New  London.  The  theatre  of  these  hos 
tile  movements  was  too  near  the  many  painful  in 
cidents  of  the  revolution,  not  to  awaken,  instantly, 
the  memory  of  deep-felt  and  aggravated  wrongs, 
and  to  fire  the  bosoms  of  the  inhabitants,  with  a 
spirit  akin  to  that  by  which  they  had  been  actuated 
in  the  revolution.  No  sooner,  then,  had  the  British 
squadron  approached,  and  their  object  become  ap 
parent,  than  crowds  of  men,  from  beardless  youth 
to  extreme  old  age,  hurried  to  the  scene  of  danger, 
on  both  sides  of  the  river.  All  was  intense  commo 
tion,  in  expectation  of  an  immediate  attack.  Old 
Fort  Griswold  was  again  tenanted,  by  a  company 
of  hastily  gathered  volunteers,  under  the  command 
of  Major  Simeon  Smith,  and  every  arrangement 
made  for  a  vigorous  and  determined  defence.  The 
defendants  were  all  animated  as  one  man,  and 
though  their  means  of  resistance  were  meagre,  they 
resolved  to  make  the  most  of  them.  Small  cannon, 
the  best  they  had,  were  planted  and  manned  at  the 
fort ;  but  it  was  soon  discovered  that  there  was  an 
insufficient  quantity  of  ammunition,  for  a  protract 
ed  contest.  They  wanted  flannel  to  make  the  car 
tridges,  and  feared  that  the  time  would  not  allow  to 


254  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

cross  the  ferry  to  New  London,  in  search  of  it.  In 
this  emergency,  an  individual  was  despatched  to 
obtain  all  he  could,  in  the  neighboring  village  of 
Groton.  But,  whatever  stores  the  villagers  might 
have  had,  there  was  no  flannel. 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  messenger,  almost 
in  despair,  called  upon  Mrs.  Bailey  for  counsel,  and 
made  known  his  wants.  He  knew,  at  all  events, 
that  she  would  do  every  thing  in  her  power  to  as 
sist  him.  She  at  once  proposed  appealing  indivi 
dually  to  the  occupants  of  each  house  in  the  neigh 
borhood,  and  they  found  all  ready  to  give  up  what 
they  had  to  spare,  whether  unfashioned  or  made 
into  garments.  Having  completed  their  respective 
visits,  Mrs.  Bailey  and  her  co-laborer  met,  in  the 
street,  and  she  delivered  to  him  all  that  she  had 
collected.  But,  even  when  added  to  his,  it  was 
found  inadequate  to  the  occasion.  Mrs.  Bailey, 
however,  was  not  to  be  defeated  in  her  object.  She 
instantly  threw  off  her  petticoat  from  her  own  person, 
where  she  stood  in  the  street,  exclaiming,  as  she 
gave  it  to  him,  "There,  fire  that  at  them!"  and  the 
messenger  started  off  immediately  to  his  comrades. 
The  result  is  known.  The  enemy,  in  this  case  at 
least,  deemed  discretion  the  better  part  of  valor,  and 
did  not  land.  Such  is  the  prominent  incident 
which  has  won  for  Mother  Bailey  an  imperishable 
fame.  The  effect  through  the  region  was  electric, 
and  that  petticoat,  had  it  been  borne  aloft  as  a  ban 
ner,  in  the  day  of  fight,  would  have  animated  the 
soldiers  of  the  good  cause,  had  it  been  necessary, 
with  an  ardor  as  enthusiastic,  a  courage  as  un 
daunted,  and  an  energy  as  indomitable,  as  were 
once  inspired  in  the  bosoms  of  Frenchmen,  by  the 
presence  of  Joan  d'Arc.  What  agency  the  petti 
coat  had  in  prosecuting  the  war,  by  the  way  of  car 
tridges,  we  know  not ;  but  of  this  we  are  assured, 
that  Mother  Bailey  feels  as  proud  of  the  act  of  its 
appropriation,  as  a  monarch  could  of  his  crown. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  255 


ALDEN  MARCH. 

It  has  been  well  observed,  that  it  is  a  particular 
felicity  of  our  republican  institutions,  that  they  throw 
no  impediments  in  the  career  of  merit,  but  the  com 
petition  of  rival  abilities;  and  into  which  career  it 
may  enter  without  encountering  the  repulses  of 
artificial  rank,  or  winning-  its  patronage  by  unwor 
thy  compliances.  The  history  of  Professor  March, 
one  of  the  most  eminent  physicians  and  surgeons 
in  the  United  States,  affords  an  additional  illustra 
tion  of  this  fact. 

His  ancestors,  we  perceive,  were  English.  They 
were  among  the  early  settlers  of  New  England,  and 
resided  in  the  town  of  Newbury,  Massachusetts.  In 
the  history  of  that  town,  the  name  of  March  occurs 
as  early  as  1653.  In  1651  a  sumptuary  law  had 
been  passed  by  the  town  authorities,  for  the  viola 
tion  of  which,  in  1653,  charges  were  preferred  against 
the  wives  of  Nicholas  Noyss,  William  Chandler, 
and  Hugh  March,  for  severally  wearing  a  silk  hood 
and  scarf.  But  upon  the  ladies  proving  that  their 
husbands  were  worth  two  hundred  pounds  sterling 
each,  the  charges  were  dismissed. 

At  a  subsequent  date,  the  names  of  John  and 
George  March,  are  found  connected  with  the  history 
of  Newbury.  The  grandfather  of  Alden,  and  his 
father,  Jacob  March,  both  resided  at  Newbury. 
Jacob  was  born  there  on  the  17th  of  July,  1747. 
When  only  seven  years  of  age,  Jacob  removed  with 
the  family  to  Sutton,  Worcester  county,  Massachu 
setts.  The  maiden  name  of  his  mother  was  Eleanor 
Moore.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Captain  David 
Moore,  for  some  time  sheriff  of  Worcester  county. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  that  part 
of  Sutton  now  called  Millbury,  on  the  20th  of  Sep 


'256  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

tember,  1795.  He  was  the  youngest  of  seven  bro 
thers.  His  father  was  a  plain  New  England  farmer, 
and  Alden  was  brought  up  to  work  on  the  farm, 
of  which,  at  a  very  early  age,  he  took  the  chief 
management.  Like  many  others  similarly  situated, 
his  opportunities  for  school  instruction  were  but 
very  small,  and  those  chiefly  in  the  severe  part  of 
the  winter.  When  Alden  was  nineteen,  his  father 
died,  whereupon,  he  became  anxious  to  enter  upon 
a  mercantile  life.  With  this  view  he  spent  a  year 
in  the  store  of  an  elder  brother,  after  which  he  spent 
a  short  period  at  the  Munson  academy,  where,  in 
his  22d  year,  he  commenced  the  study  of  English 
grammar.  After  teaching  a  district  school  for  a  few 
months,  he  spent  the  next  spring  and  summer  in 
cutting  house  slate  at  a  quarry  in  Hoosick,  Rensse- 
laer  county.  He  subsequently  visited  the  city  of 
New  York,  where  he  made  an  ineffectual  attempt 
to  obtain  employment  in  the  mercantile  business. 
He  then  returned  to  Sutton,  Massachusetts,  where 
his  brother,  a  physician,  suggested  the  idea  of  study 
ing  medicine.  His  objections,  however,  were  strong 
ones,  viz.,  the  want  of  means,  and  the  want  of  ed 
ucation.  The  former,  two  of  his  brothers  agreed  to 
furnish,  and  the  latter,  he  resolved  to  obviate  as 
well  as  he  could.  Losing  no  time,  he  soon  acquired 
a  very  respectable  stock  of  Latin  and  Greek.  He 
also  in  1818  and  1819,  attended  medical  lectures  at 
Boston,  given  by  Prof.  William  Ingalls,  then  attach 
ed  to  the  medical  department  of  Brown  university. 
Full  of  ambition,  our  student  embraced  every 
opportunity  for  acquiring  knowledge,  particularly 
those  afforded  in  the  dissecting  rooms,  and  by  sur 
gical  operations.  He  was  also  early  initiated  into 
the  art  and  mystery  of  procuring  supplies  for  the 
dissecting  room,  the  particulars  of  which,  it  is  pre 
sumed,  it  would  not  be.safe  to  entrust  to  other  than 
professional  ears.  During  the  vacation  he  pursued 
his  studies  with  his  brother,  and  during  the  haying 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  2-57 

season  he  worked  out  at  a  dollar  per  day.  He  at 
tended  the  next  term  at  Boston,  where  he  had 
charge  of  the  lecture  room  and  the  furnishing  of  it 
with  "supplies." 

In  the  execution  of  this  delicate  duty,  it  may  be 
readily  inferred  that  Alden  had   some  interesting 
adventures.    During  this  term  it  appears  that  medi 
cal   institutions   in  other  states,    being   unable   to 
obtain   "  subjects,"   sent  agents  to  Boston,   so  that 
there  were  very  soon  no  less  than  three  "Piichmonds 
in  the  field,"   not  the  field  of  battle,   but  Potter's 
field.      The  members  of  the   institution   to  which 
Dr.  March  was  attached,  conceiving  themselves  to 
possess  a  preemption   right,   frequently  came   into 
collision  with  the  others.      On  one  occasion  the 
body  of  a  drowned    sailor  was  exhumed    by  the 
foreign  agents,  but  being  disturbed,  they  were  forced 
to  fly,   leaving  the  "  subject "   behind  a  barn  near 
the  burial  ground.     Professor  Ingalls  hearing  of  it 
an  hour  afterwards,  and  being  aware  that  should 
the  body  be  discovered  by  the  citizens,  great  excite 
ment  would  follow,  sent  for  Dr.  March,  and  although 
past  midnight,   told   him  that  at  all  hazards,   the 
body  must   be  removed   and   the   grave   filled  up. 
Procuring  an  assistant,  and  after  considerable  delay, 
a  horse  and  wagon,  the  doctor  started;   but  just  as 
they  were  leaving  the  city,  the  clock  struck  three. 
Having  not  a  moment  to  Jose/they  dashed  forward. 
On  arriving  at  the  burial  ground,  it  was  nearly  day 
light,  and  the  market  people  were  corning  into  the 
city.     Watching  his  opportunity,  Dr.  March,  a  re 
markably  strong  man,  lifted  the  sack  containing  the 
body,  weighing  at  least  one  hundred  and  seventy 
pounds,  and  carried  it  to  the  wagon.     Being  now 
after  seven  o'clock,  and  broad  daylight,  they  could 
not  venture  to  return  to  the  city.    In  this  emergency, 
Dr.  March,  having  a  friend  who  lived  at  a  distance 
of  some  miles  on  the  Common,  drove  there,  where 
the  "subject"  was  concealed  in  a  barn,  until  the 


253  AMEKICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

return  of  night  afforded  an  opportunity  for  convey 
ing  it  to  "head  quarters."  But  the  foreign  agents 
declared,  although  wrongfully,  that  it  was  the  Bos 
ton  students  who  had  drove  them  from  the  ground, 
and  thus  deprived  them  of  the  fruits  of  their  labor. 

During  this  term,  he  with  several  others  formed 
themselves  into  a  club,  and  having  obtained  some 
of  the  bones  of  a  skeleton,  they  alternately  lectured 
to  each  other,  demonstrating  the  more  important 
parts  of  the  "  subject."  Perhaps  his  idea  of  becom 
ing  a  lecturer  may  be  traced  to  this  circumstance. 
He  employed  all  the  time  he  could  spare,  in  making 
preparations  of  the  different  parts  of  the  human 
body,  which  he  afterwards  found  of  great  use. 
Many  of  them,  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  may 
be  seen  at  the  museum  of  the  Albany  Medical  col 
lege. 

In  the  fall  of  1820,  Dr.  March  graduated  at  Brown 
university,  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi 
cine.  He  soon  afterwards  left  Massachusetts,  with 
the  design  of  settling  in  Troy,  New  York.  But 
there  being  no  vacancy,  he  went  to  Albany.  There 
he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  situation  as  assistant 
in  the  office  of  Dr.  Elias  Willard,  where,  during  a 
year,  he  posted  books,  collected  accounts,  and  at 
tended  to  other  office  affairs.  His  compensation 
consisted  in  perquisites,  which,  in  all,  did  not 
amount  to  over  $100,  less  than  half  his  current  ex 
penses. 

By  this  time,  however,  his  collection  of  anatomi 
cal  preparations  began  to  attract  considerable  no 
tice  ;  and  the  idea  occurred  to  him,  that  by  means 
of  those  and  a  few  recent  subjects,  he  could  give  a 
course  of  anatomical  instruction  to  the  students  of 
the  place,  and  such  others  as  might  feel  interested. 
Accordingly,  in  the  fall  of  1821,  he  commenced 
lecturing  on  anatomy  and  physiology,  in  Albany, 
to  a  small  class  of  some  fourteen  or  sixteen  young 
men,  mostly  medical  students.  His  first  lecture 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  259 

was  a  written  one.  For  the  second,  he  prepared  a 
few  notes  only,  from  which  he  attempted  to  extem 
porize.  But  in  so  doing,  he  used  up  the  notes,  the 
subject  and  himself,  by  the  time  the  hour  was  about 
half  through,  and  had  nothing  more  to  say !  He 
was  sadly  discouraged,  and  on  the  point  of  abandon 
ing  the  whole  matter,  when  a  medical  friend  urged 
him  to  persevere,  insisting  that  to  give  up  under 
such  circumstances,  would  be  the  prelude  to  defeat 
and  disaster  in  whatever  he  might  undertake.  So 
he  determined  to  persevere,  and  he  succeeded.  He 
then  went  forward,  giving  the  first  course  of  the 
kind  ever  given  in  Albany.  The  lecture  room  was 
the  upper  part  of  a  small  two  story  building  in 
Montgomery  street,  and  which  had  previously  been 
occupied  as  the  Albany  Female  academy.  From 
this  course  of  lectures,  the  Albany  Medical  college 
may  properly  date  its  origin.  And  it  is  a  curious 
fact,  that  these  two  flourishing  institutions  should 
have  commenced  in  the  same  humble  building. 
How  many  a  flourishing  tree  has  taken  root  in  an 
obscure  corner. 

In  the  spring  of  1822,  Dr.  March  commenced  for 
himself  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  the  writer  has 
more  than  once,  heard  of  a  remarkable  instance  of 
the  indomitable  perseverance  of  the  doctor  in  over 
coming  difficulties.  Should  this  meet  his  eye,  it  is 
presumed  he  will  not  disavow  it.  Having  no  means 
of  procuring  that  indispensable  requisite  to  a  young 
doctor,  a  "subject,"  he,  in  a  very  inclement  season, 
borrowed  a  horse  and  waggon  from  a  relative,  and 
drove  all  the  way  to  Boston,  where  Potter's  field 
"suffered  some."  He  started  homeward  with  a 
brace  of  subjects,  and  on  arriving  at  Greenbush,  the 
Hudson  river  was  but  just  frozen  over.  He,  how 
ever,  with  his  "  company,"  dashed  across,  the  ice 
cracking  beneath  the  wheels  the  whole  distance. 

It  was  in  1822  that  the  doctor  published  an  article 
in  the  Daily  Advertiser,  suggesting  and  advocating 


'260  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

the  establishment  of  a  medical  college  and  hospital, 
in  the  city  of  Albany,  which  subsequently  became 
the  subject  of  much  newspaper  discussion. 

In  the  fall  of  that  year,  he,  with  four  other  phy 
sicians  of  Albany,  made  arrangements  for  giving  a 
gratuitous  summary  course  on  anatomy,  physiology, 
theory  and  practice,  materia  medica,  obstetrics  and 
surgery.  It  appears,  however,  that  his  colleagues 
did  not  fulfil  their  promises,  so  that  Dr.  March  had 
to  go  through  the  whole  course  without  any  assist 
ance.  This  affair,  we  perceive,  gave  rise  to  con 
siderable  correspondence  in  the  newspapers  of  the 
day. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1824,  Dr.  March  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Joanna,  the  fourth  daugh 
ter  of  Silas  Armsby,  of  Sutton,  Massachusetts.  In 
the  summer  of  the  following  year,  he  was  appointed 
professor  of  anatomy  and  physiology  in  the  Vermont 
Academy  of  Medicine,  now  called  the  Castleton 
Medical  college,  in  which  he  continued  until  1835. 
The  term  at  Castleton  was  in  the  fall;  and  during 
the  ten  years  he  was  professor  in  that  institution, 
he  gave  every  winter  at  Albany,  a  private  course 
upon  anatomy,  physiology,  and  operative  surgery. 
By  his  connexion  with  the  Vermont  academy,  he 
became  acquainted  with  Professor  Tally,  one  of  his 
colleagues  in  that  institution,  and  with  whom,  in 
1827,  he  formed  a  business  connexion,  which  con 
tinued  for  three  years,  and  which  was  of  great  ad 
vantage  to  Prof.  March  in  extending  his  literary 
and  scientific  acquirements. 

In  1832,  when  the  cholera  prevailed  in  this  coun 
try,  it  was  particularly  destructive  in  the  state  prison 
at  Sing  Sing.  A  commission  of  medical  men  being 
appointed  by  Governor  Throop  to  visit  the  prison, 
Prof.  March  was  appointed  from  the  city  of  Albany, 
and  Doctors  Stevens,  Rhinelander  and  McNiven 
were  appointed  from  the  city  of  New  York.  The 
pressure,  however,  of  duties,  private  and  public,  his 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  26  1 

connexion  with  the  board  of  health  at  Albany,  to 
gether  with  this  visit  to  Sing  Sing,  came  very  near 
terminating  his  life. 

In  the  winter  of  1832,  after  a  hotly  contested 
election,  Prof.  March  was  elected  president  of  the 
Albany  County  Medical  society. 

In  the  spring  of  1833,  he,  "at  his  own  expense, 
fitted  up  lecture  rooms  in  the  city  of  Albany,  where 
a  course  of  medical  lectures  was  given  by  a  portion 
of  the  faculty  of  the  Vermont  academy,  and  two  or 
three  other  medical  gentlemen  of  Albany. 

Owing  to  petitions  to  that  effect,  which  had  been 
for  the  previous  six  years,  successively  presented  by 
Prof.  March  and  others,  the  legislature  passed  an 
act  incorporating  the  Albany  Medical  college,  which 
institution,  it  will  be  remembered,  took  its  rise  from 
the  course  of  lectures  given  by  Prof.  March  in  1821. 
It  is  true,  the  immediate  foundation  of  the  college 
is  due  to  several  others,  who  united  their  efforts 
with  his,  but  all  will  admit  that  he  is  fairly  entitled 
to  the  credit  of  originating  it.  After  its  incorpora 
tion,  many  obstacles  of  great  magnitude  had  to  be 
surmounted,  and  difficulties,  growing  out  of  local 
and  general  opposition,  to  be  overcome.  Owing  to 
the  efforts  he  made  during  this  struggle,  and  his 
professional  labors,  his  health  was  seriously  im 
paired. 

In  organizing  a  faculty,  the  trustees  of  the  college 
appointed  Prof.  March  to  the  chair  of  surgery,  which 
he  has  ever  since  filled  with  high  honor  to  himself 
and  to  the  institution.  The  faculty,  at  their  first 
organization  in  1839,  elected  him  president  of  the 
college,  which  office  he  has  continued  to  hold  to 
the  present  time. 

In  the  spring  of  1841,  with  a  view  of  improving 
his  health  and  the  acquisition  of  professional  know 
ledge,  Prof.  March  visited  Europe.  He  wished  par 
ticularly  to  perfect  himself  in  operating  for  club 
foot  and  strabismus  or  squint  eye,  having  performed 


£f  2  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

numerous  operations,  especially  in  the  latter,  pre 
vious  to  witnessing  any  such  operations  performed 
by  others.  He  spent  a  month  in  visiting  the  hospi 
tals,  medical  colleges,  and  museums  of  London, 
where  he  had  frequent  opportunities  of  witnessing 
the  operations  of  the  most  distinguished  surgeons. 
He  afterwards  travelled  through  England,  visiting 
all  the  principal  towns.  The  month  of  June,  in 
that  year,  he  spent  in  Paris,  where  he  daily  visited 
extensive  hospitals,  and  witnessed  a  great  number 
of  surgical  operations.  He  also  visited  the  univer 
sities,  hospitals,  &c.,  of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow, 
where  the  same  facilities  were  extended  to  him. 
He  also  visited  the  lakes  and  highlands  of  Scotland, 
from  whence  he  continued  his  route  to  the  Giant's 
Causeway,  Belfast,  and  Dublin.  After  visiting  the 
hospitals  of  the  latter  city,  he  returned  to  Liverpool, 
and  from  thence  to  Boston,  in  a  Cunard  steamer. 

In  the  fall  of  1841,  he  was  elected  a  trustee  in 
the  first  Presbyterian  church  of  Albany,  and  during 
the  past  year,  he  held  the  office  of  president  of  the 
board. 

Of  the  merits  of  Prof.  March  as  a  physician  and 
surgeon,  it  is  not  necessary  to  speak.  One  might 
as  well  attempt  to 

"  Paint  the  lilly, 

Or  gild  refined  gold." 

He  stands  before  the  public  as  one  who  has  suc 
cessfully  buffetted  the  storm,  and  who,  by  his  own 
exertions,  has  arrived  at  his  present  enviable  posi 
tion. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  263 


GEORGE  BUSH. 

The  Rev.  George  Bush  is  professor  of  Hebrew  in 
the  University  of  New  York.  He  affords  a  remark 
able  instance  of  perseverance  through  difficulties, 
being  in  a  great  measure,  a  self-taught  man.  He 
has  long  been  distinguished  for  the  extent  and  va 
riety  of  his  attainments  in  oriental  literature,  and 
probably  as  an  oriental  linguist,  has  no  equal  in  this 
country.  He  has,  says  Mr.  Poe,  published  a  great 
deal,  and  his  books  have  always  the  good  fortune 
to  attract  attention  through  the  civilized  world. 
His  Treatise  on  the  Millenium,  is  perhaps  that  of 
his  earlier  compositions  by  which  he  is  most  exten 
sively,  as  well  as  most  favorably  known.  Of  late 
days,  he  has  created  a  singular  commotion  in  the 
realm  of  theology  by  his  Anastasis,  or  the  Doctrine 
of  the  Resurrection:  in  which  it  is  argued  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  is  not 
sanctioned  by  reason  or  revelation.  This  work 
has  been  zealously  attacked,  and  as  zealously  de 
fended  by  the  professor  and  his  friends.  A  subse 
quent  work  on  The  Soul,  by  the  author  of  Anastasis, 
has  made  nearly  as  much  noise  as  the  Anastasis 
itself. 

He  is  a  Mesmerist  and  a  Swedenborgian — has 
lately  been  engaged  in  editing  Swedenborg's  works, 
publishing  them  in  numbers.  He  converses  with 
fervor,  and  often  with  eloquence. 

He  is  one  of  the  most  amiable  men  in  the  world, 
universally  respected  and  beloved.  His  frank,  un 
pretending  simplicity  of  demeanor,  is  especially 
winning. 

"  In  person  he  is  tall,  nearly  six  feet,  and  spare, 
with  large  bones.  His  countenance  expresses 
rather  benevolence  and  profound  earnestness  than 


264  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

high  intelligence.  The  eyes  are  piercing;  the  other 
features,  in  general,  massive.  The  forehead,  phre- 
nologically,  indicates  causality  and  comparison, 
with  deficient  ideality — the  organization  which  in 
duces  strict  logicality  from  insufficient  premises. 
He  walks  with  a  slouching  gait  and  with  an  air  of 
abstraction.  His  dress  is  exceedingly  plain.  In 
respect  to  the  arrangement  about  his  study,  he  has 
many  of  the  Magliabechian  habits." 

Professor  Bush  was  born  on  the  12th  of  June, 
1796. 

While  the  above  was  in  the  press,  the  writer  dis 
covered  another  very  interesting  work  by  Professor 
Bush,  in  which  he,  it  is  thought,  triumphantly 
proves  that  the  prophecies  relating  to  the  restoration 
of  the  Jews,  are  to  have  a  literal  fulfilment,  and 
that  the  land  of  hallowed  memories,  is  yet  to  receive 
again  its  ancient  tenants,  and  to  yield  its  teeming 
riches  to  the  old  age  of  the  same  people,  whose  in 
fancy  was  nurtured  upon  its  maternal  bosom ;  that 
the  olive  and  the  vine  shall  again  spread  their 
honors  over  the  mountains  once  delectable,  but 
now  desolate ;  and  that  the  corn  shall  yet  laugh  in 
the  valleys  where  the  prowling  Bedouin  pitches  his 
tent,  u  Without  assuming,"  says  he,  "  to  fix  with 
absolute  precision,  the  day  or  the  year  which  the 
counsels  of  Providence  may  have  assigned  to  the 
fulfilment,  we  are  still  confident  that  we  incur  no 
hazard  in  saying,  that  the  most  accurate  researches 
in  prophetic  chronology,  as  well  as  the  pregnant 
signs  of  the  times,  afford  abundant  warrant  for  the 
belief,  that  we  are  now  just  upon  the  borders  of 
that  sublime  crisis  in  Providence  of  which  the  re 
storation  of  the  Jews  to  Syria,  and  their  ingather 
ing  into  the  church,  is  to  be  one  of  the  prominent 
features." 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  265 

Oh!  lost  and  loved  Jerusalem  ! 

That  we  on  earth  may  stay, 
To  see  thy  glorious  harvest  home 

In  thy  redeeming  day  ! 
To  see  thy  mountain  cedars  green, 

Thy  valleys  fresh  and  fair, 
With  summers  bright  as  they  have  been, 

When  Israel's  home  was  there  ! 

Thine  are  the  wandering  race  that  go 

Unbless'd  through  every  land, 
Whose  blood  hath  stained  the  polar  snow, 

And  quenched  the  desert  sand ; 
And  thine  the  homeless  hearts  that  turn 

From  all  earth's  shrines  to  thee, 
With  their  lone  faith  for  ages  borne 

In  sleepless  memory. 

For  thrones  are  fallen  and  nations  gone, 

Before  the  march  of  time, 
And  where  the  ocean  rolled  alone, 

Are  forests  in  their  prime ; 
Since  Gentile  ploughshares  marred  the  brow 

Of  Zion's  holy  hill- 
Where  are  the  Roman  eagles  now? 

Yet  Judah  wanders  still. 

And  hath  she  wandered  thus  in  vain, 

A  pilgrim  of  the  past  ? 
No  !  long  deferred  her  hope  hath  been, 

But  it  shall  come  at  last ; 
For  in  her  waste  a  voice  I  hear, 

As  from  some  prophet's  urn, 
It  bids  the  nations  build  not  there, 

For  Jacob  shall  return. 


34 


266  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


ZELOTIS  GRINNELL, 

• 

Was  bom  on  the  8th  of  April,  1797,  at  Cortwright, 
New  York.  His  parents  emigrated  from  Connecti 
cut  to  Delaware  county,  in  1794,  and  subsequently 
removed  to  Harpersfield,  where  they  have  resided 
on  a  farm  ever  since.  At  the  early  age  of  fourteen, 
Zelotis  obtained  a  hope  in  the  Savior,  and  at  that 
age  was  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Warren  Luke.  All 
the  education  his  parents  had  been  able  to  give  him, 
was  that  of  a  common  school,  which  he  occasional 
ly  attended  during  the  winter  months,  between  the 
age  of  six  and  eleven  years.  From  eleven  to  the 
age  of  twenty-one,  he  lived  with  his  eldest  brother, 
who  was  a  farmer,  at  Stamford.  During  that  in 
terval,  Zelotis  was  so  deplorably  ignorant  of  book 
learning,  that  had  any  one  ventured  to  foretell  his 
future  eminence  as  a  preacher,  it  would  have  been 
admitted  as  good  proof  of  insanity. 

A  few  months  after  attaining  his  majority,  influ 
enced  by  a  sense  of  duty  to  God  and  to  man,  he 
commenced  trying  to  preach.  Under  the  disadvan 
tages  which  he  labored,  as  is  always  the  case,  he 
had  to  encounter  the  sneers  and  ridicule  of  men  of 
the  world,  who,  without  any  agency  of  their  own, 
had  received  a  better  education.  "  How  often  does 
a  noble  and  gifted  soul  become  an  object  of  scorn 
and  neglect,  because  its  peculiarity  and  preponde 
rating  excellence  is  unacknowledged  by  surround 
ing  persons.  The  ass  treads  down  the  most  beau 
tiful  flower— man  the  most  faithful  brother's  heart. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  Mr.  Grinnell  settled  on 
the  line  between  Orange  and  Sussex  counties,  a 
broken,  though  an  old  settled  country.  When  he 
commenced  preaching,  he  was  totally  ignorant  of 
the  first  principles  of  English  grammar,  and  his 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  267 

humility  would  not  permit  him  to  fall  into  the 
track  of  a  good  old  divine  similarly  situated,  who, 
the  writer  was  informed,  on  one  occasion,  desiring 
to  impress  his  audience  with  the  belief  that  he 
knew  more  than  he  did,  expounded  his  text  in  this 
wise:  "  My  hearers,  godliness  is  the  past  participle 
of  the  verb  God." 

Mr.  Grinnell  had,  however,  from  his  childhood,  a 
great  taste  for  reading,  which  he  gratified  by  bor 
rowing  books,  whenever  he  could  get  them.  These 
he  would  study  by  firelight,  frequently  placing  his 
hair  in  jeopardy  by  its  proximity  to  a  dying  ember. 
It  used  to  be  a  common  remark  of  his  father: 
"  That  'Otis  is  always  a  borrowing  books." 

After  settling  in  the  ministry,  he  attended  school 
for  three  weeks,  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  some 
knowledge  of  grammar.  What  improvement  he 
has  made  since,  has  been  by  hard  labor,  while 
others  slept,  as  he  has  raised  a  large  family  upon  a 
very  humble  salary.  But  he  is  well  aware  that  the 
growing  intelligence  of  society,  makes  it  more  and 
more  advisable,  that  the  ministry  should  not  fall  be 
low  the  average  standard  of  intelligence  in  the 
community  they  instruct. 

In  1819,  he  was  regularly  ordained  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  In  1820,  he  married  Miss  Abigail 
Osborne,  of  Harpersfield;  but,  two  years  afterward, 
she  died.  He  subsequently  married  Esther  Blain, 
with  whom  he  removed  to  Paterson,  New  Jersey. 
In  1835,  his  second  companion  died.  He  after 
wards  took  a  third  wife,  and  in  1838,  removed  to 
New  York  city,  when  he  became  pastor  of  the 
Broome  (now  Cannon)  Street  church.  In  1842,  on 
account  of  his  impaired  health,  he  removed  to  El- 
mira,  Chemung  county,  New  York,  where  he  still 
resides.  He  has  thirteen  children  now  living,  six 
of  whom  have  made  a  creditable  profession  of  faith. 
His  eldest  son  is  in  the  senior  class  at  Hamilton  uni 
versity. 


268  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK 

Mr.  Grinnell  has  always  been  a  laborious  worker 
in  the  ministry,  having,  at  the  lowest  calculation, 
preached  between  six  and  seven  thousand  sermons. 
He  has  also  had  the  pleasure  of  baptizing,  on  a  pub 
lic  profession  of  their  faith,  more  than  seven  hun 
dred  persons,  seven  of  whom  are  now  preaching  the 
gospel.  He  is  now  in  his  fifty-second  year.  He 
has  always  had  to  contend  with  a  delicate  consti 
tution,  suffering  much  from  "  dyspepsia,"  that 
"  thorn  in  the  flesh,"  of  so  many  gifted  men,  who 
suffer  their  professional  duties  to  intrude  upon 
the  hours  which  ought  to  be  devoted  to  bodily  ex 
ercise. 

Well  might  a  learned  physician  observe :  "  I 
know  not  which  is  the  most  necessary  to  the  hu 
man  frame,  food  or  motion."  Were  the  exercise  of 
its  body  attended  to  in  a  corresponding  degree  with 
that  of  the  rnind,  men  of  great  learning  would  be 
more  healthy  and  vigorous — of  more  general  talents 
—of  more  ample  practical  knowledge — happier  in 
their  domestic  lives — more  enterprising  and  atten 
tive  to  their  duties  as  men.  In  fine,  it  may  with 
propriety  be  said,  that  the  highest  refinement  of 
the  mind,  without  improvement  of  the  body,  can 
never  present  any  thing  more  than  half  a  human 
being. 

Owing  to  the  very  small  amount  of  his  surplus 
funds,  Mr.  Grinnell  has  had  but  small  chance  of 
procuring  books — the  need  of  which  he  has  often 
felt.  But,  by  adopting  a  resolution  to  lay  by  a  cer 
tain  portion  of  his  marriage  fees  for  this  purpose, 
he  has,  in  twenty  years,  managed  to  obtain  about 
three  hundred  volumes. 

He  possesses  a  full,  rich  voice,  and  his  personal 
appearance  is  prepossessing.  Although  very  popu 
lar  as  a  preacher,  there  is  nothing  of  stage  effect  in 
his  eloquence — no  imposing  attributes  or  gestures — 
no  extremes  of  intonation.  His  sermons  are  "  sim 
ple  nature,  the  eloquence  of  truth,  spoken  in  love." 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  269 


WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT, 

The  "  most  chaste,  original,  nervous  and  elegant 
lyric  poet  of  the  day,"  was  born  at  Cummington, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  3d  of  November,  171)4.  His 
father  was  a  physician,  in  humble  circumstances, 
but  a  man  of  fine  literary  taste.  William  exhibit 
ing  early  indications  of  superior  talent,  was  care 
fully  instructed  in  the  art  of  composition.  His 
poetic  productions,  at  a  very  early  age,  were  nume 
rous,  and  exhibited  a  peculiar  freshness  and  beauty. 
After  remaining  at  Williams'  college  two  years,  at 
his  solicitation,  he  received  an  honorable  dismission. 
He  then  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Justin 
Howe,  and  afterwards  with  the  Hon.  W.  Baylies. 
In  1815  he  was  admitted  to  practice,  which  he  did 
at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  until  1825,  when, 
having  married,  he  removed  to  his  present  abode 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  has  spent  a  consider 
able  time  abroad  with  his  family,  visiting  nearly 
every  remarkable  place  in  Europe.  He  is  now  the 
well  known  editor  of  the  New  York  Evening  Post. 
He  has  by  no  means,  however,  entirely  deserted 
Elysium  and  Arcadia  for  the  forum  and  the  caucus 
room,  as  ever  and  anon,  gems  are  still  dropping 
from  his  pen. 

On  the  6th  of  May,  1847,  Mrs.  Sarah  Bryant,  the 
mother  of  our  poet,  and  of  other  sons,  whose  i^Y^1' 
and  reputation  reflect  honor  upon  their  parentage, 
died  at  Princeton,  Illinois.  She  was  born  in  Ply 
mouth  county,  Massachusetts;  a  part  of  our  country 
where  the  vigorous  virtues  are  hereditary.  Ee- 
moving  in  early  life  with  her  parents  to  a  remote 
part  of  her  native  state,  she  and  her  kindred  car 
ried  with  them,  in  their  habits  and  principles,  the 
elements  of  that  high  morality  which  distinguished 
their  ancestry. 


270  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK, 


SAMUEL  B.  BRITTAN. 

The  Rev.  S.  B.  Brittan  was  born  at  Phillipston, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  13th  of  August,  1815.  By  a 
series  of  misfortunes,  his  father  soon  afterwards  be 
came  embarrased  in  his  circumstances,  and  at  the 
tender  age  of  seven  years,  the  subject  of  our  memoir 
was  forced  by  an  imperious  necessity,  to  leave  the 
family  circle  for  a  home  among  strangers.  None 
but  those  who  have  suffered  under  similar  circum 
stances,  can  measure  the  agony  of  a  little  boy  on 
thus  quitting  the  "warm  fireside  circle  of  love"  for 
a  dwelling  where  the  sunshine  of  affection  shines 
not,  and  where 

When  the  kiss  of  love  goes  round 
There  is  no  kiss  for  him. 

Who,  it  has  been  asked,  can  gaze  upon  a  young 
and  inexperienced  being  thus  entering  upon  the 
thorny  path  of  life — who,  with  a  knowledge  of  all 
that  experience  teaches,  the  disappointments,  the 
sorrows,  the  anxieties,  the  pangs,  the  agonies  that 
await  mortal  man  upon  his  strange  career,  can 
watch  the  young  lie  sleeping,  all  unconscious  of 
the  evil  to  come,  and  not  feel  sad  at  heart  to  think, 
that  in  such  a  bitter  school  they  must  learn  the 
great  lessons  that  prepare  for  immortality! 
.ejt."'  •}  dry  thine  infant  tears,  and  still  the  throbbings 
'of  thy  kittle  heart,  for  spirit  watchers  are  around 
thee,  and  HE  who  was  once  a  little  child  like  thee, 
will  temper  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  Mr.  Brittan  was  apprenticed 
to  a  carriage  maker.  Finding  this  business  entirely 
unsuited  to  his  taste,  he,  after  remaining  at  it  two 
years,  resolved  to  seek  a  more  congenial  occupation. 
Accordingly  he  bid  adieu  to  New  England,  and  re 
moved  to  Brooklyn,  New  York.  At  that  place  he 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  271 

was  soon  engaged  in  a  business  which  he  thought 
presented  a  more  flattering  prospect  of  success,  but 
he  soon  discovered  that  manufacturing  of  any  kind 
had  no  attractions  for  him.  He  felt  an  irresistible 
inclination  to  seek  the  retirement  of  the  study,  and 
determined,  if  possible,  to  prepare  for  the  ministerial 
office.  Being  now  about  to  enter  upon  a  new 
sphere  of  thought  and  action,  and  as  his  advantages 
in  early  life  were  very  limited,  it  became  necessary 
at  this  period,  to  subject  himself  to  a  severe  and 
protracted  course  of  mental  discipline.  He  obtained 
a  situation  as  teacher  in  an  English  school,  in  which 
capacity  he  continued  for  several  years,  pursuing 
his  studies  in  private  at  the  same  time. 

In  the  autumn  of  J840,  he  was  taken  into  fellow 
ship  as  a  Christian  minister  by  the  New  York  Asso 
ciation  of  Universal ists,  and  in  August,  1841,  re 
ceived  ordination.  At  the  same  time  he  became 
pastor  of  the  Universalist  society  at  Danbury,  Con 
necticut,  where  he  remained  until  the  spring  of 
1843,  when  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  First  Universalist  society  in  Albany. 
On  the  following  year,  contrary  to  his  own  expect 
ation  and  the  unanimous  desire  of  his  people,  he 
was  led  by  a  train  of  circumstances,  over  which  he 
had  no  control,  to  settle  in  Bridgeport,  Connecticut, 
where  he  remained  two  years.  During  this  term, 
a  large  and  intelligent  society  and  congregation  were 
gathered,  and  an  elegant  church  edifice  erected. 
The  circumstances  which  had  required  his  removal 
from  Albany  having  now  changed,  he  was,  by  the 
repeated  and  earnest  solicitations  of  many  friends, 
induced  to  return  to  that  city,  where,  in  May,  1846, 
he  resumed  his  labors. 

In  May,  1847,  at  the  solicitation  of  many  who 
listened  to  them  as  they  were  originally  delivered, 
Mr.  Brittan  published  a  volume  of  his  discourses 
under  the  title  of  the  "  One  Great  Idea."  He  is 
also  the  author  of  various  other  interesting  works. 


272  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


JOHN  JACOB  ASTOR. 

The  following  account  of  this  wonderful  man,  is 
condensed  from  that  popular  work,  Beach's  Book 
of  Wealth : 

John  Jacob  Astor  is  classed,  by  those  who  know 
him  best,  not  only  among  the  richest,  but  also 
among  the  truly  great  men  of  the  world.  The  ta 
lent  which,  in  another  age,  and  in  another  state  of 
society,  was  exercised  in  the  art  of  war,  is  now,  to 
a  great  extenf,  engaged  in  the  peaceful  occupations 
of  the  cpunting  room.  War  has  been  a  great  field 
for  the  development  of  great  talents.  But  commerce 
affords  scope  for  a  greater  variety  of  talent,  and  is  a 
field  on  which  the  most  gigantic  genius,  and  the 
most  soaring  ambition  may  expend  themselves  in 
unlimited  conquests.  In  this  department  of  human 
action,  Astor  has  displayed  a  great  mind.  Landing 
on  our  shores  as  a  common  steerage  passenger — a 
poor,  uneducated  boy — a  stranger  to  the  language 
and  the  people — he  has,  by  the  sole  aid  of  his  own 
industry,  accumulated  a  fortune  scarcely  second  to 
that  of  any  individual  on  the  globe,  and  has  exe 
cuted  projects  that  have  become  identified  with  the 
history  of  his  country,  and  which  will  perpetuate 
his  name  to  the  latest  age. 

He  was  born  in  July,  1763,  in  the  village  of  Wal 
dorf,  near  Heidelberg,  in  the  duchy  of  Baden,  Ger 
many.  His  father  was  a  very  worthy  man,  and 
held  the  office  of  bailiff.  At  the  age  of  eighteen, 
young  Astor,  on  the  eve  of  leaving  his  home  for  a 
foreign  land,  resolved  to  be  honest  and  industrious, 
and  never  to  gamble.  In  March,  1784,  he  landed  in 
this  country,  a  steerage  passenger,  having  sailed 
from  London  in  November,  and  been  detained  by 
the  ice  three  months.  The  ship  in  which  he  had 


JOHN    JACOB    ASTOR 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  273 

taken  passage  was  commanded  by  Captain  Stout, 
father  to  the  present  president  of  the  Eagle  Insur 
ance  company.  On  one  occasion  young  Astor  ven 
tured  beyond  the  limits  assigned  to  the  steerage  pas 
sengers,  and  appeared  on  the  quarter-deck.  Capt. 
Stout,  observing  it,  came  up,  and  in  a  very  peremp 
tory  manner,  asked  him  how  he  dared  to  intrude 
there!  ordering  him  instantly  to  retire !  This  poor 
steerage  passenger  is  now  the  richest  individual  in 
the  western  hemisphere,  arid  can  look  down  upon 
those  who  then  held  him  in  so  much  contempt. 
On  his  voyage  he  became  acquainted  with  a  fellow 
countryman  of  his,  a  furrier,  who  induced  Mr.  As 
tor  to  learn  this  art.  The  main  portion  of  Mr.  As 
tor' s  property  at  this  time  consisted  of  seven  flutes 
from  his  brother's  manufactory,  at  London,  which, 
with  a  few  other  articles  of  merchandize,  he  sold, 
and  invested  the  small  proceeds  in  furs,  and  com 
menced  learning  the  fur-trade.  He  was  soon  after 
engaged  as  clerk  in  the  fur  establishment  of  Robert 
Bowne,  a  good  old  Quaker,  who  prized  Mr.  Astor 
very  much,  for  his  untiring  industry  and  fidelity. 
Subsequently,  by  the  aid  of  his  brother  Harry,  h^ 
engaged  in  business  for  himself,  associated  with  the 
late  Cornelius  Heyer.  Afterwards  he  became  asso 
ciated  with  Mr.  Smith,  the  father  of  Gerrit  Smith. 
At  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  Oswego,  Nia 
gara,  Detroit,  and  other  posts,  being  in  possession 
of  a  foreign  power,  a  serious  embarrassment  was 
thrdwn  in  the  way  of  the  fur  trade.  Soon  after  Mr. 
Astor  entered  into  the  business,  in  1794-5,  by  a 
treaty  these  posts  were  surrendered,  when,  contem 
plating  the  grand  opportunity  then  offered  to  him, 
he  said :  "  Now,  I  will  make  my  fortune  in  the  fur 
trade."  His  prediction  was  verified.  Astor,  with 
an  industry  and  sagacity  unparalleled,  improved 
his  opportunity,  and  after  the  lapse  of  six  years,  dur 
ing  the  first  year  of  the  present  century,  he  had 
amassed  something  like  $250,000.  By  the  natural 
35 


274  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

course  of  accumulation,  this  sum,  at  the  present 
time,  would  have  amounted  to  $6,000,000— but,  in 
Mr.  Astor's  hands,  it.  has  increased  to  more  than 
four  times  that  amount.  Nine  years  later,  at  the 
age  of  forty-five,  Mr.  Astor  founded  the  American 
Fur  company,  for  the  purpose  of  competing  with 
the  powerful  British  associations,  which  were  in  a 
fair  way  to  monopolize  the  traffic  in  furs  through 
out  the  northern  and  southwestern  portions  of  our 
continent. 

From  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  the  Ame 
rican  Fur  company,  Mr.  Astor  became  largely  en 
gaged  in  commerce.  His  ships,  freighted  with  furs 
for"  France,  England,  Germany  and  Russia — and 
with  peltries,  ginseng,  and  dollars,  for  China,  now 
plowed  every  sea,  to  receive  these  products  of  the 
New  World,  and  exchange  them  for  the  valuable 
commodities  of  the  Old. 

Mr.  Astor  has  vast  tracts  of  land  in  Missouri,  Wis 
consin,  Iowa,  and  other  parts  of  the  west,  the  pros 
pective  value  of  which  is  very  great.  The  greater 
portion  of  his  property,  however,  is  in  real  estate 
and  mortgages  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Could 
Mr.  Astor's  property  be  kept  unbroken  and  under  its 
present  management,  it  would  become  the  largest 
individual  estate  ever  known  on  the  globe.  The 
estimates  of  the  value  of  his  property  are  various— 
those  knowing  his  affairs  best,  placing  it  at 
$30,000,000 — and  some  as  high  even  as  $50,000,- 
000.  His  income,  on  a  "moderate  estimate,  must 
be  $2,000,000  a  year,  or  $166,000  a  month;  which 
is  about  $41,500  a  week;  $5,760  a  day;  $240  an 
hour,  and  $4  a  minute.  Mr.  Astor  has  made  a  do 
nation  of  $350,000  for  a  library  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  the  interest  of  which  is  to  be  expended  in 
employing  agents  to  purchase  books,  and  in  the 
erection  of  a  building.  Mr.  Cogswell,  late  editor 
of  the  New  York  Review,  is  the  agent  and  libra 
rian. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  275 

Mr.  Astor  has  two  sons ;  one  of  his  daughters  be 
came  the  Countess  of  Rumpff,  and  lately  deceased, 
at  Paris;  another  (deceased)  was  married  to  Mr. 
Bristed,  an  Englishman,  author  of  a  work  on  the 
Resources  of  America,  and  now  a  clergyman  of 
Bristol,  Rhode  Island. 


DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

Near  the  close  of  the  last  century,  in  the  woods 
of  New  Hampshire,  might  have  been  seen  a  stern 
looking  youth,  in  coarse  attire,  shouting  to  a  yoke 
of  oxen,  or  splitting  wood  in  the  farm  yard.  De 
prived  of  all  the  advantages  of  education,  and  shut 
out  from  the  world  by  a  dense  forest,  how  could  it 
have  been  supposed  that  the  voice  of  one  so  lowly, 
would  ever  echo  in  thunder  tones  of  soul-chaining 
eloquence  in  the  halls  of  congress,  or  that  his  saga 
cious  counsels  in  the  cabinet,  would  entitle  him  to 
rank  among  the  first  statesmen  of  the  world.  Yet 
all  this  came  to  pass,  and  Daniel  Webster,  by  his 
indomitable  energy,  and  untiring  perseverance, 
worked  his  way  from  the  plow  to  the  senate  cham 
ber! 

Mr.  Webster  was  born  at  Salisbury,  New  Hamp 
shire,  at  the  head  of  the  Merrimack  river,  on  the 
18th  of  January,  1782.  His  father  was  at  one  pe 
riod  an  officer  of  the  revolution,  and  for  many  years 
judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas.  Like  his  son, 
he  was  a  man  of  strongly  marked  character,  full  of 
decision,  integrity,  firmness  and  good  sense. 


276  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


CHURCHILL  CALDOM  CAMBRELENG, 

Was  born  at  Washington,  North  Carolina,  Octo 
ber,  1786.  His  grandfather  was  Churchill  Caldom, 
whose  father  came  from  Scotland,  and  settled  on 
the  Pamlico  river,  about  the  year  1700.  His  ma 
ternal  grandfather  was  Col.  John  Patten,  a  gallant 
officer  in  the  revolutionary  war;  and  who  was  in 
the  battles  of  Brandywine,  Germantown,  and  Mon- 
mouth.  He  was  made  prisoner  at  the  capitulation 
of  Charleston,  and  remained  on  parole  till  the  end 
of  the  war. 

Mr.  Cambreleng,  by  the  death  of  his  father,  was 
left  an  orphan  at  an  early  age,  and  the  straightened 
circumstances  of  his  family,  occasioned  by  the  long 
absence  from  home  of  his  grandfather,  deprived 
him  of  the  advantage  of  a  classical  education,  and 
before  the  age  of  twelve  he  was  compelled  to  leave 
the  academy  at  which  his  first  rudiments  of  instruc 
tion  had  been  acquired.  This  deficiency,  however, 
has  since  been  well  supplied  by  the  native  energies 
of  a  remarkably  vigorous  and  observing  mind,  by 
self-cultivation  and  by  extensive  traveling,  both  at 
home  and  abroad. 

In  1800,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  was  placed  in 
the  store  of  a  merchant,  with  whom  he  remained,  in 
New  York,  till  1802.  The  ill  success  which  attended 
his  present  employer,  caused  him  to  return  to  North 
Carolina,  in  1W05,  where  he  found  almost  all  his  old 
school  companions  engaged  in  a  life  of  dissipation, 
which  soon  naturally  attracted  him  within  its 
round.  After  a  few  months,  however,  he  broke 
from  its  spell  of  wild  and  careless  pleasure,  and  re 
turned  to  prosecute  his  fortunes  by  his  unaided  ex 
ertions,  in  New  York.  Unfortunately,  however,  for 
the  young  adventurer,  he  was  detained  a  fortnight 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  277 

before  he  could  embark  at  Ocracock  lar,  by  the  end 
of  which  time  the  gambling  table,  which  was  the 
constant  place  of  amusement  of  the  young  men  of 
that  day  and  section,  had  despoiled  him  of  the  last 
penny  of  his  little  outfit,  with  which  his  mother 
had  been  able  to  launch  him  forth  on  the  career  of 
his  fortune.  On  landing  at  New  York,  accident 
threw  him  in  the  way  of  a  kindly  and  shrewd  old 
Scotch  merchant,  who  invited  him  to  his  house, 
and  gave  him  temporary  employment,  until  such 
time  as  a  more  suitable  opening  in  life  should  pre 
sent  itself.  It  was  not  long  before,  in  1 806,  he  was 
engaged  as  clerk  by  an  eminent  merchant_narned 
Clark,  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  who  was  large 
ly  concerned  in  the  northwest  coast  trade  of  the 
Pacific  ocean. 

At  the  termination  of  his  employment  at  Provi 
dence,  he  returned  again  to  New  York,  where,  for 
several  years,  he  was  engaged  as  a  merchant,  in  the 
commission  business.  This  he  relinquished,  in 
1819,  to  undertake  the  agency  of  a  large  cotton 
speculation,  in  New  Orleans,  which  had  been  pro 
jected  by  some  enterprising  merchants  in  the  form 
er  city.  The  declaration  of  war,  in  June,  however, 
defeating  the  speculation,  he  returned  to  New  York 
by  land,  through  the  Indian  territory,  encountering 
many  hardships,  and  escaping  from  imminent  dan 
gers.  At  that  period  commenced  his  connection 
with  Mr.  Astor,  with  whom  his  most  important 
commercial  transactions  were  had,  and  who,  one 
of  the  most'acute  judges  of  men,  always  reposed  an 
important  confidence  in  Mr.  Cambreleng,  entrust 
ing  many  important  commissions  of  business  to  his 
discretion. 

When  the  Russian  mediation  between  the  Unit 
ed  States  and  Great  Britain  was  proposed,  in  1813, 
Mr.  Astor  projected  a  speculation  to  a  large  amount 
in  Canton,  and  proposed  to  Establish  a  permanent 
agency  there,  in  connection  with  his  settlement  al 


278  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river.  Mr.  Carnbreleng 
was  selected  by  Mr.  Astor  to  execute  this  important 
commercial  enterprise,  and  went  to  Europe  to  await 
the  result  of  the  negotiation,  under  the  Russian 
mediation. 

Soon  after  the  dreadful  battle  of  Leipsic,  Mr. 
Carnbreleng  commenced  his  journey  to  Sweden, 
through  Pomerania  to  Berlin,  (then  filled  with 
wounded,)  Potsdam,  Dessau  and  Leipsic.  From 
thence  he  followed  the  route  of  the  allied  army  to 
Frankfort  on  the  Maine,  to  Basle  in  Switzerland, 
and  thence  to  within  sixty  miles  of  Paris.  It  was 
a  journey  full  of  interest  and  adventure,  affording 
not  only  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  civilized  sol 
diers  of  Europe,  but  the  Cossack,  Calmuc,  Bashkin, 
and  Tartar.  He  was  frequently  in  the  neighborhood 
of  unimportant  skirmishes  and  battles,  and  met 
occasionally  bodies  of  prisoners  returning  on  the 
snow,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  it  being  mid 
winter  and  the  ground  covered  with  snow.  After 
much  delay  and  difficulty,  he  with  two  companions 
reached  the  head  quarters  of  the  allied  army  at  a 
village  about  fifteen  miles  from  Troyes,  but  only  as 
the  army  was  leaving  there  for  Bar-sur-Seine.  The 
advanced  guard  of  the  army  was  engaged  on  the 
turnpike  leading  to  Troyes,  and  there  was  much 
consternation  among  the  allies,  at  the  report  that 
Napoleon  had  thrown  himself  into  that  place  at  the 
head  of  an  army  of  200,000  men.  Mr.  Cambreleng 
and  his  companions  also  started  for  Bar-sur-Seine, 
but  had  not  only  to  pass  over  one  of  the  terrible 
cross  roads  of  France  in  the  middle  of  winter,  but 
to  follow  in  the  train  of  more  than  a  thousand  can 
non  and  baggage  wagons.  They  reached  Bar-sur- 
Seine  at  nine  o'clock  at  night,  after  having  travelled 
the  distance  of  nine  miles  in  as  many  hours.  In 
addition  to  their  other  troubles,  they  were  quartered 
in  a  house  with  a  German  prince  and  his  attend 
ants,  who  had  taken  possession  of  every  room,  and 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  279 

all  the  eatables  into  the  bargain.  The  travellers 
had  to  sleep  in  the  same  room  as  the  master  of  the 
house,  his  wife,  children  and  servants.  The  host, 
however,  on  learning  that  they  were  Americans, 
opened  a  secret  closet  and  gave  them. some  food, 
together  with  a  bottle  of  Burgundy.  From  thence, 
Mr.  Cambreleng  reached  Chatillon,  where  was  as 
sembled  the  congress  of  ministers,  which  was  the 
object  of  his  destination. 

The  negotiations  for  peace  were  delayed  much 
longer  than  was  anticipated,  so  that  he  was  detained 
in  Europe  more  than  a  year.  His  time,  however, 
was  not  unemployed.  He  visited  Sweden,  Prussia, 
Silesia,  Bohemia,  Germany,  Switzerland,  France, 
Holland,  and  England.  Despairing  of  an  early  and 
pacific  termination  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  he  re 
turned  in  the  Hannibal  to  New  York  in  1814.  In 
1815,  he  again  visited  France,  Italy  and  Asia  Minor. 
On  his  return  he  commenced  business  in  New  York, 
which  after  a  few  years  terminated  unsuccessfully. 
In  1825,  he  made  a  tour  through  England,  Ireland, 
Scotland,  and  Wales.  His  life  has  thus  been  an 
adventurous  and  roving  one,  replete  with  striking 
incident  and  romantic  adventure,  for  which,  as  well 
as  for  scenery,  and  the  novelty  of  travel,  he  has 
always  had  a  strong  passion.  Though  his  career 
was  commercial,  Mr.  Cambreleng  has  always  been 
a  zealous  politician,  and  a  uniform  advocate  of  de 
mocratic  principles.  He  had  not  long  been  settled 
in  New  York  before  he  took  an  active  part  in  poli 
tics.  In  1821,  he  was  nominated  for  congress,  and 
was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  The  seat  thus 
obtained,  he  preserved  until  the  fall  of  1838.  He 
thus  continued  a  member  of  congress  for  eighteen 
years  consecutively,  and  the  responsible  stations  he 
occupied  while  there,  need  not  be  enumerated. 

While  travelling  in  Europe  in  1840,  he  was  ap 
pointed  minister  to  Russia,  but  after  the  inaugura 
tion  of  General  Harrison  in  1841,  he  tendered  his 


280  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

resignation.  Since  his  return,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  recent  convention  for  revising  the 
constitution  of  the  state  of  New  York.  He  is  at 
present  residing  on  his  beautiful  farm  on  Long 
Island. 

The  history  of  Mr.  Cambreleng  cannot  but  be 
interesting  to  the  young  men  of  our  country,  who 
may  believe  that  the  want  of  a  classical  education 
is  an  indispensable  bar  to  arriving  at  distinction. 
Had  he  not  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  been 
compelled  to  leave  school  at  the  age  of  twelve,  the 
chances  are  a  hundred  to  one,  that  his  history  might 
have  been  comprised  in  the  following  lines  of  the 
poet; 

(  There  was  a  man,  was  born  and  cried 
And  then — what  then  ? — he  died. 


HENRY  CLAY 

i 

In  Hanover  county,  Virginia,  on  the  12th  of  April, 
1777,  was  born  a  boy,  who,  early  deprived  of  his 
father,  was  left  to  buffet  with  the  worJd.  But  this 
boy,  by  his  native  talent  and  dauntless  perseverance, 
overcame  innumerable  difficulties,  and  steadily  ad 
vanced,  step  by  step,  until  his  fame,  as  a  jurist  and 
statesman,  has  travelled  through  the  world.  Who 
could  have  supposed  that  a  poor,  fatherless  youth, 
by  his  own  efforts,  would  have  thus  risen  from 
obscurity  to  be  the  candidate  of  a  powerful  party, 
for  the  highest  station  in  the  United  States.  Yet 
this  was  accomplished  by  Henry  Clay ! 

For  nearly  half  a  century  has  his  name  been  a 
"  familiar  word/'  and  his  history  is  inseparably  in 
tertwined  with  that  of  his  country. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  281 


HORACE  GREELEY. 

This  distinguished  editor  of  one  of  the  most  re 
spectable,  arid  widely  circulated  daily  newspapers 
in  the  Union,  says  the  American  Phrenological 
Journal,  was  born  at  Amherst,  New  Hampshire, 
February  3,  1811,  and  is  the  oldest  survivor  of  seven 
children;  two  having  died  before  his  birth.  A  bro 
ther  and  three  sisters  are  still  living.  His  father 
and  mother,  who  still  survive,  and  now  reside  in 
Erie  county,  Pennsylania,  were  both  born  a  few 
miles  eastward  of  Amherst;  the  latter  in  London 
derry,  of  Scotch-Irish  lineage  (her  maiden  name 
Woodburn) ;  the  former,  in  that,  town,  or  Pelham, 
of  English  extraction;  but  both  families  had  long 
been  settled  in  that  region — the  Woodburns  since 
1723.  All  his  ancestors,  so  far  as  there  exists  any 
remembrance,  were  farmers — the  Greeleys,  gene 
rally,  poor  ones;  the  Woodburns,  in  comfortable 
circumstances,  having  been  allotted  a  good  tract 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  the  first  settle 
ment  of  Londonderry,  which  still  remains  in  the 
family,  the  property  of  an  uncle  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  who,  when  not  quite  three  years  of  age, 
was  taken  to  spend  the  winter  thereon,  in  the  fami 
ly  of  his  maternal  grandfather,  with  whom  he  was 
early  a  favorite.  After  the  novelty  of  his  visit  had 
worn  off,  he  was  sent  to  the  district  school,  a  few 
rods  off,  rather  to  diminish  the  trouble  of  looking 
after  him  in  a  large  family  of  grown  persons,  than 
in  the  hope  of  his  learning  any  thing.  But  he  had 
already  been  taught  the  alphabet,  and  the  rapidity 
with  which  he  passed  from  this  to  the  first  class  in 
reading  and  spelling,  is  still  a  matter  of  vivid  local 
remembrance,  and  even  fabulous  exaggeration.  At 
four  years  of  age,  he  could  read  and  spell  credita- 
36 


282  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

bly;  at  five,  he  was  esteemed,  at  least  equal,  in 
those  branches,  to  any  one  attending1  the  school. 
He  continued  at  his  grandfather's  during  most  of 
the  school  months — usually  six  in  each  year — until 
six  years  old,  the  school  in  his  father's  district  be 
ing  two  miles  from  the  family  dwelling.  But  he 
evinced  no  such  faculty  for  learning  higher  branches. 
Grammar,  commenced  at  five,  was  not  fairly  com 
prehended  until  eight,  nor  mastered  until  some  time 
later;  in  geography  proper  (the  relation  of  places  to 
each  other)  he  was  not  proficient,  though  the  histo 
rical  and  other  statistics  intermingled  therewith 
were  easily  and  rapidly  assimilated;  penmanship 
utterly  defied  all  his  exertions;  and  it  was  only 
when  he  came,  some  years  later,  to  take  up  the  e\e- 
mental  arithmetic  of  the  common  schools,  that  he 
found  himself  able  to  press  forward  with  his  infan 
tile  celerity.  He  could  not  remember  the  time 
when  he  had  not  the  multiplication  table  at  com 
mand,  and  all  the  processes  of  school  arithmetic 
seemed  but  obvious  applications  of,  or  deductions 
from,  this.  But  his  school  days  in  summer  ended 
with  his  seventh  year,  and  in  winter  with  his  four 
teenth;  being  much  interrupted  at  earlier  periods 
by  the  necessities  of  a  life  of  poverty  and  labor.  He 
never  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  a  day's  teaching  in 
any  other  than  a  rural  common  school,  generally 
of  two  to  four  months  each  winter  and  summer,  and 
these  very  far  inferior  to  the  schools  of  the  present 
day,  even  in  the  least  favored  sections  of  New  York 
or  New  England. 

When  not  quite  ten  years  of  age.  his  father  lost 
his  little  property  in  New  Hampshire,  and  removed 
to  Westhaven,  Vermont,  near  the  head  of  Lake 
Champlain,  where  he  remained  nearly  six  years. 
The  first  two  were  employed  in  land-clearing,  on 
contract,  with  the  aid  of  his  two  sons;  the  next,  in 
a  saw  mill,  while  the  boys  worked  on  a  small,  poor 
farm;  the  residue,  in  clearing,  and  farming  upon 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  283 

shares.  During  these,  as  before,  our  subject  was 
favored  with  the  loan  of  books  and  periodicals,  by 
neighbors  of  ampler  resources,  and  devoted  very 
much  of  his  spare  time  to  reading,  especially  in  the 
winter  evenings,  when  the  labors  of  the  long  days 
of  summer,  which  so  severely  tax  the  sinews  of  a 
youth  of  ten  or  twelve  years,  had  been  succeeded 
by  shorter  days  and  lighter  tasks. 

At  eleven  years  of  age  he  made  his  first  attempt, 
at  Whitehall,  New  York,  to  find  employment  as  an 
apprentice  to  the  printing  business,  which  he  had 
previously  decided  to  follow  as  a  vocation,  but  was 
rejected  on  account  of  his  youth.  Afterward,  he 
could  with  difficulty  be  spared.  When  fifteen, 
however,  his  father  found  himself  enabled  to  make 
a  long  meditated  tour  of  observation  westward, 
with  a  view  to  the  removal  of  his  family;  and  now 
the  eldest  son  was  permitted  to  gratify  the  cherish 
ed  desire  of  his  heart,  by  entering,  on  the  18th  of 
April,  1826,  as  an  apprentice,  the  printing  office  of 
the  Northern  Spectator,  at  East  Poultney,  Rutland 
county,  Vermont.  Here  he  remained  more  than 
four  years,  until  late  in  June,  1830,  when  the  paper 
was  discontinued.  Meantime,  his  father  and  fami 
ly  had  removed,  in  the  fall  of  1826,  to  Wayne,  Erie 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  visited  them  in 
1827,  and  1829,  and  whither  he  repaired,  on  quitting 
Poultney,  in  1830.  Working  by  spells  on  their  rude 
wilderness  farm,  and,  when  opportunity  offered,  at 
his  trade,  in  Jamestown  and  Lodi,  New  York,  and 
in  Erie,  Pennsylvania,  he  remained  in  that  region 
a  little  more  than  a  year,  finally  quitting  it,  when 
work  ran  out,  about  the  first  of  August,  1831,  for 
New  York,  where  he  arrived  on  the  16th  of  that 
month,  and  has  ever  since  resided.  He  worked  as 
a  journeyman  during  the  first  year  and  a  half  of  his 
stay,  with  some  unavoidable  interruptions,  through 
want  of  employment,  until  early  in  1833,  when,  in 
connection  with  another  young  printer,  he  pur- 


284  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

chased  materials,  and  undertook  the  printing  of  a 
cheap  daily  newspaper,  for  a  man  who  failed  soon 
afterward.  Other  printing  was  soon  procured,  less 
promising,  but  better  paid.  His  first  partner  was 
suddenly  taken  away  by  drowning,  in  July;  ano 
ther  took  his  place.  The  concern  was  moderately 
prosperous;  and  in  the  following  spring,  March  22, 
1834,  our  subject  issued,  without  subscribers,  and 
almost  without  friends,  in  a  city  where  he  was 
hardly  known  beyond  the  circle  of  his  boarding 
house  and  his  small  business,  the  first  number  of 
The  New  Yorker,  a  weekly  journal,  devoted  to  popu 
lar  literature,  and  an  impartial  summary  of  trans 
piring  events.  That  paper  was  continued  through 
seven  years  and  a  half,  having  a  circulation  which 
rose,  at  one  time,  to  over  nine  thousand.  It  ave 
raged  more  than  five  thousand  throughout,  but  was 
never  pecuniarily  profitable,  owing,  in  good  part,  to 
bad  management  in  the  publishing  department.  In 
September,  1841,  it  was  merged  in  the  weekly  is 
sue  of  The  New  York  Tribune,  started  as  a  daily 
on  the  10th  of  April,  in  that  year,  and  still  con 
tinued  under  his  editorial  management. 

He  was  married  in  July,  1836,  to  Mary  Y.  Che 
ney,  of  Litchfield,  Connecticut.  They  have  had 
four  children,  of  whom  only  the  third  survives.  Our 
subject  renounced  the  use  of  intoxicating  beverages 
in  his  fourteenth  year,  and  of  tea  and  coffe  in  his 
twenty-seventh.  In  his  twenty-ninth  he  became  an 
advocate  of  those  ideas  of  social  reorganization,  or 
comprehensive  renovation  of  society  and  industry, 
known  among  their  advocates  as  Association,  and 
by  their  opponents  as  Fourierisrn,  to  which  his  en 
ergies  are  still  devoted,  so  far  as  the  unremitting 
duties  devolving  on  the  editor  of  a  political  daily 
will  permit.  He  is  now,  of  course,  in  his  thirty- 
eighth  year,  slender  in  frame  and  stooping  in  gait, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  incessant  cares  and  unseasona 
ble  labors  of  his  vocation,  enjoys  average  health. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  285 


EDWIN  CROSWELL. 

The  family  of  Croswell  came  from  Great  Britain, 
previous  to  the  revolution.  The  Rev.  Andrew  Cros 
well,  whose  sermons  are  preserved  in  print,  came 
over  early  in  the  eighteenth  century.  Caleb  Cros 
well,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  at  Charlestown,  Massachusetts; 
and  the  spot  on  which  the  Charlestown  convent  was 
built,  and  subsequently  burned,  near  Boston,  was 
once  in  possession  of  the  family. 

Caleb  resided  near  Hartford,  in  the  state  of 
Connecticut,  and  married  there.  The  issue  were 
five  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  sons,  Thomas 
O'Hara,  Mackay,  Caleb,  Harry,  and  Archibald,  re 
moved  to  this  state  about  the  year  1790.  They  all 
established  themselves  at  Catskill,  on  the  Hudson. 
The  eldest,  Dr.  Thos.  O'H.  Croswell,  continued  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession  until  his  death,  in 
1844,  greatly  beloved  by  the  community  among 
whom  he  had  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life. 
He  held  the  office  of  postmaster  of  that  place,  by 
the  common  consent  and  desire  of  the  inhabitants, 
from  the  organization  of  the  office,  under  a  com 
mission  from  Gen.  Washington,  to  the  period  of  his 
death.  Mackay  commenced  the  publication  of  the 
Catskill  Packet,  in  1792,  then  the  only  paper,  ex 
cept  one  at  Poughkeepsie,  between  the  cities  of  New 
York  and  Albany,  and  one  of  the  six  or  seven  that 
had  then  an  existence  in  the  state.  He  retired  in 
1820,  and  died  in  1847.  Caleb  died  in  1803,  in 
Connecticut,  on  the  same  night  that  the  mother  of 
Edwin  Croswell  expired  at  Catskill.  Harry,  now 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Croswell,  established  the  Balance,  at 
Hudson,  a  paper  of  high  excellence  and  wide  circu 
lation,  and  distinguished  for  its  wit  and  cleverness. 


286  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

He  removed  to  Albany  in  1809,  and  after  conduct 
ing  a  paper  there  for  three  years,  retired  from  the 
field  of  politics,  fitted  for  the  ministry,  took  orders, 
and,  for  the  last  thirty-five  years,  has  discharged, 
with  eminent  fidelity  and  ability,  as  an  ambassador 
of  Christ,  the  duties  of  rector  of  Trinity  church,  in 
New  Haven,  Connecticut.  His  sons,  now  living, 
are  the  Rev.  Win.  Croswell,  rector  of  the  Church 
of  the  Advent  ;  Sherman  Croswell,  associate  editor 
and  proprietor  of  the  Albany  Argus;  and  Frederick 
Croswell,  now  in  business  in  New  Haven,  Connecti 
cut,  and  before  the  people  of  that  state  as  the  de 
mocratic  candidate  for  comptroller.  Archibald,  the 
youngest  of  the  five  sons  of  Caleb  Croswell,  is  a 
resident  of  Schoharie  county,  and  for  many  years 
has  been  engaged  in  extensive  manufacturing  pur 
suits  there. 

Edwin  Croswell,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  the 
eldest  son  of  Mackay  Croswell,  was  born  at  an 
eventful  era  in  the  political  world,  1798.  His  ma 
ternal  grandmother  was  a  Shethar,  a  New  England 
matron,  imbued  with  all  the  spirit  of  the  revolution, 
under  whose  charge  he  was  placed  after  the  death 
of  his  mother.  Her  eldest  son,  Capt.  John  Shethar, 
was  an  officer  in  the  active  service  of  his  country, 
and  received  the  approval  and  confidence  of  Gen. 
Washington  during  the  whole  of  that  war.  His 
academic  instruction  was  under  the  charge  of  the 
late  Rev.  Dr.  Reed,  and  he  pursued  classical  studies 
under  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Peck,  but  never  entered  col 
lege.  His  first  efforts  for  the  newspaper  press,  were 
in  his  fourteenth  year,  during  the  first  year  of  the 
war  of  1812,  in  favor  of  which  he,  at  that  early  age, 
took  an  active  part,  encouraged  to  act,  not  only  by 
his  father,  but  by  his  friend  and  guide,  the  late  Mo 
ses  I.  Cantine,  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Van  Buren. 
Before  he  was  of  legal  age,  he  entered  upon  the 
editorial  charge,  with  his  father,  of  the  Catskill  Re 
corder,  a  journal  which  had  vigorously  sustained 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  287 

the  war,  and  subsequently  the  principles  and  mea 
sures  of  the  democratic  party,  and  had  attained 
considerable  celebrity  and  a  wide  circulation.  In 
January,  1823,  he  was  invited,  on  the  death  of 
Judge  Cantine,  to  the  editorial  charge  of  the  Albany 
Argus,  and  was  at  once,  and  nearly  unanimously, 
appointed  state  printer,  with  Isaac  Q.  Leake.  He 
declined,  however,  to  take  an  interest  in  the  estab 
lishment,  and  gave  his  services  for  the  benefit 
of  the  widow  of  Judge  Cantine.  In  1824,  Mr. 
Leake  retired  from  the  concern,  and  Mr.  Croswell 
was  appointed  state  printer,  being  associated  with 
the  late  O.  R.  Van  Benthuysen  in  the  ownership  of 
the  paper,  and  in  the  public  printing.  In  that  year 
he  married  Catharine,  eldest  daughter  of  John  Ad 
ams,  Esq.,  of  Catskill,  counsellor  at  law,  and  repre 
sentative  from  the  Greene  and  Delaware  district,  in 
the  twenty-third  congress.  Prior  to  the  retirement 
of  Mr.  Van  Benthuysen,  Sherman  Croswell,  a  capa 
ble  writer,  and  one  of  the  best  reporters  in  this 
country,  was  associated  in  the  management  of  the 
paper.  In  1840,  the  change  of  parties  resulted  in 
the  removal  of  Mr.  Croswell.  In  1843,  on  the  re 
storation  of  the  ascendancy  of  the  democratic  party, 
he  was  reflected  state  printer,  and  under  the  act  of 
1846,  continues  in  official  charge  of  the  state 
paper. 

Appointed  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  state  printer, 
and  having,  for  the  last  twenty-four  years,  conduct 
ed  the  leading  organ  of  the  dominant  party  in  the 
state  of  New  York,  with  distinguished  ability  and 
vigor,  Mr.  Croswell  has  justly  acquired  high  promi 
nence  of  position  as  a  writer  and  politician.  For 
tact,  sagacity,  resources,  experience,  and  all  the 
qualities  which  go  to  constitute  a  party  leader,  Mr. 
Croswell  has  few,  if  any,  superiors  in  the  United 
States,  as  the  almost  uninterrupted  series  of  demo 
cratic  triumphs  which  have  marked  the  history  of 
parties  in  New  York,  incontestibly  prove.  What- 


288  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

ever  may  be  the  differences  of  political  views,  it  is 
conceded  on  all  hands  that  the  Albany  Argus  has 
sustained,  under  his  charge,  during  all  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century,  a  high  reputation  for  talent 
and  for  political  influence.  Of  that  famous  ideal  or 
real  body  known  as  the  "  Albany  Regency,"  he  is 
the  only  survivor  resident  in  that  city — most  of  his 
colleagues,  indeed,  except  Gov.  Marcy,  now  the  dis 
tinguished  secretary  of  war,  and  the  Hon.  B.  F. 
Butler,  district-attorney  for  the  southern  district  of 
New  York,  being  dead,  or  having  gone  into  retire 
ment. 

Mr.  Hammond,  in  his  "Political  History  of  New 
York,"  in  1840,  speaks  of  Mr.  Croswell,  as  follows: 

"  As  a  political  party  editor,  he  has  few,  if  any, 
superiors  in  the  United  States.  His  paper  has  been, 
as  perhaps  it  ought  to  have  been,  considering  the 
position  he  occupied  in  relation  to  the  democratic 
party,  uniformly  the  organ  of  the  principles  and 
views  of  the  majority  of  that  party.  Always  cool, 
self-collected,  sagacious  and  cautious,  he  has  sel 
dom,  if  ever,  allowed  himself  to  be  guilty  of  any  in 
discretions;  and,  generally  courteous  in  his  lan 
guage,  he  has  never  attacked  individuals  unless 
their  public  and  political  conduct  rendered  them 
fair  subjects  of  animadversion.  His  style  of  writing 
is  more  highly  polished  than  that  of  most  of  the 
American  newspaper  editors.  Indeed,  it  is  some 
what  remarkable,  that  a  man  educated  to  practical 
and  business  pursuits,  should  have  acquired  so  ac 
curate  and  nice  a  literary  taste,  and  so  correct  a 
style  and  manner  of  writing.  Let  his  future  politi 
cal  fate  be  what  it  may,  his  reputation  as  a  news 
paper  editor  of  tact  and  talent,  will  always  stand 
high — perhaps  as  high,  at  any  rate  on  the  score  of 
tact,  as  any  editor  in  the  United  States,  excepting 
only  Joseph  Gales." 


MOSES    Y.    BEACH 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  289 


MOSES  Y.  BEACH. 

The  life  of  Mr.  Beach,  well  known  as  the  propri 
etor  of  The  New  York  Sun,  the  pioneer  of  the  pen 
ny  press,  while  it  presents  no  remarkable  variety  of 
changes  or  incidents,   is  attractive  as  tracing  the 
steps  of  a  determined  man — one  whose  cheek  never 
blanched   in  the  darkest  hour  of  adversity.     The 
grandfather  of  Mr.  B.  was  one  of  the  small  band  of 
hardy  settlers  whose  axes  first  made  the  woods  re 
sound  on  the  spot  where  the  beautiful  village  of 
Wallingford,  Connecticut,  now  stands.     The  place 
received  its  name  from  one  of  their  number,  and 
when  the  father  of  our  subject  was  a  stripling  of  ten 
years  old,  in   1780,   it  could  boast  of  only  half  a 
dozen  log  huts.     Moses  Beach    (the    grandfather) 
lived  to  a  good  old  age,  ranking  among  the  highest 
and  most  wealthy  men  in  the  settlement,  and  when 
the  desert  gave  place  to  the  thriving  village,  he  an 
swered  the  call  of  nature,  resigning  his  possessions 
to  his  eldest  son,  Moses  Sperry  Beach,  with  whom 
fortune  played  some  pranks,  reducing  a  large  patri 
mony  to  mere  independence.     Moses  Sperry  mar 
ried  Lucretia  Yale,  a  niece  of  the  celebrated  Elihu 
Yale,  founder  of  Yale  college,  and  governor  of  the 
English  East  India  company ;  but,  though  her  con 
nexions  were  all  exceedingly  wealthy,  their  "riches 
took  wings"  and  went  to  parts  untraceable.     Of  this 
couple,  Moses  Yale  Beach,  the  subject  of  this  me 
moir  was  the  first  born,  that  event  occurring  Janu 
ary  7th,  1800.     When  about  six  years  old,  himself 
and  one  brother  and  sister,  four  and  five  years  his 
juniors,  were  left  without  the  care  of  a  mother  by 
the  hand  of  death,  and  as  their  father's  business 
called  him  to  Ohio,  they  were  most  of  the  time  con 
fided  to  the  attentions  of  a  step-mother.     Moses 
37 


290  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

was  soon  taught  to  do  little  chores,  and  at  ten  years 
old  had  the  big  ones  on  his  hands  too.  At  that 
time  he  did  all  the  out  door  work,  including  the 
care  of  the  horses  and  cattle,  besides  going  daily 
nearly  two  miles  to  school,  and  yet  found  leisure 
tune  to  exercise  his  mechanical  ingenuity  in  the 
manufacture  of  play  things  for  himseJf,  his  brother 
and  sister,  and  for  swapping  with  his  school  fellows. 
From  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  until  eleven  at 
night,  he  was  generally  up  and  doing.  At  the  age 
of  fourteen,  he  was,  at  his  own  solicitation,  bound 
an  apprentice  to  a  cabinet  maker  at  Hartford,  Con 
necticut.  His  industry  excited  the  attention  of  his 
master,  who  was  a  close  man,  but  who  finally  made 
a  bargain  with  him,  by  which  he  was  allowed  two 
cents  per  hour  for  extra  work.  Mr.  B.  says  he  never 
was  more  overjoyed  at  success  in  any  thing,  than 
when  that  bargain  was  made.  Early  and  late  he 
worked,  and  the  pennies  began  to  count,  until  final 
ly  he  made  a  bargain  for  the  balance  of  his  time, 
after  he  should  attain  his  eighteenth  year.  For  his 
freedom  at  that  time,  he  was  to  give  $400.  The 
arrangement  gave  him  new  life,  and  when  the  time 
came  around,  he  had  saved  between  $100  and  $200, 
in  addition,  with  which  to  commence  life.  He  then 
removed  to  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  where,  af 
ter  working  some  time  as  a  journeyman,  he  entered 
into  business  with  another  young  man,  named 
Loveland.  The  cabinet  work  of  Beach  &  Loveland 
was  among  the  very  best  in  the  country — in  testi 
mony  of  which  they  received  the  first  premium  of 
the  Franklin  Institute — THE  SUM  OF  FIVE  DOLLARS. 
While  thus  employed,  under  a  fair  sky,  Mr.  Beach 
married  Nancy,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary  Day, 
both  direct  descendants  of  the  puritans,  the  latter 
of  the  Brewster  family.  His  smooth  sailing  was 
soon  interrupted  by  a  storm,  and  after  a  long  and 
obstinate  resistance,  his  bark  capsized.  Separating 
from  his  partner,  he  immediately  removed  to  Spring- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  291 

field,  and,  after  repeated  endeavors,  he  established 
himself  in  a  fair  business.     Building  a  convenient 
residence  with  his  first  means,  he  settled  himself  at 
his  fireside,  with  a  young  and   already  numerous 
family  around  him.     His  spirits  and  his  ingenuity 
returned,  and  ere  long  he  was  almost  entirely  en 
grossed  in  the   manufacture  of  a  "gun-powder  en 
gine"  for  propelling  balloons.     In  this  he  was  par 
tially  successful;  but  finding,  from  his  model,  that 
the  weight  of  an  engine  of  the  requisite  power  was 
insurmountable,  and  seeing  that  his  business  was 
suffering,  from  the  want  of  proper  care,   he  aban 
doned  the  project.     He  acted  too   late.     Again  he 
found  himself  in   deep  water.     But,   matching  his 
strength  against  the  current,  he  was  finally  success 
ful  in  obtaining  a  new  stand.     Once  more  he  plied 
his  ingenuity,  and  this  time  produced  a  rag  cutting 
machine,  an  article   since  adopted  in  every  paper 
mill  in  the  Union,  if  not  in  the  world.     The  saving 
of  labor  in  its  use  is  enormous;  but,  like  other  in 
ventors,  generally,  he  failed  to  derive  benefit  from  it. 
A  paper  maker  in  whose  confidence  he  relied,  made 
use  of  the  ideas  he  suggested,  to  combat  his  origin 
ality,  so  soon  as  it  was  presented,  the  result  of  which 
was  beneficial  to  neither  party.     Mr.  Beach,  how 
ever,  removed  to  Ulster,  or  Saugerties,  on  the  North 
river,  where  he  became  interested,  with  others,  in 
an  extensive  paper  mill.     The  rag  cutter,  and  a  new 
drying  machine,  were  introduced,  and   for  several 
years  their  efforts  were  crowned  with  the  greatest 
possible  success.     Mr.  Beach  invested  some  in  real 
estate,  and  erected  a  very  pretty  residence,  devoting 
his  time,  night  and  day,  almost  exclusively  to  the 
interests  of  the  concern.     Six  years  passed  thus, 
and  the  seventh  brought  changes   and    adversity 
again.     The  whole  of  his  real  estate  and  household 
furniture  was  sold  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  cre 
ditors  of  the  mill ;  and  in  1835,  he  removed  with 
his  family  to  New  York,  where  he  shortly  after  pur- 


292  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

chased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Wisner  in  The  Sun,  on 
credit,  for  $5,200.  In  this  he  was  attended  by  un 
expected  success,  and,  paying  off  the  demands  of 
Mr.  W.  in  the  course  of  the  next  year,  he  bargained 
with  his  partner,  Mr.  Day,  for  the  remaining  half 
interest,  for  $19,500.  The  first  six  months  after  he 
became  entire  owner  of  The  Sun,  it  proved  not  so 
profitable  as  he  had  calculated  upon,  and  he  offered 
nearly  all  of  his  then  property  to  have  the  bargain 
revoked;  but  not  succeeding  in  that,  he  pushed  on, 
and  the  tide  turned.  His  principal  competitor,  The 
Transcript,  gave  up  the  field,  and  in  less  than  two 
years  from  the  purchase,  the  last  dollar  due  for  the 
establishment  was  paid  up,  and  Mr.  Beach  once 
more  could  call  himself  independent.  His  career, 
since  1838,  has  been  steadily  upward — his  ability 
and  enterprize  in  the  management  of  his  newspaper 
have  been  proverbial,  and,  as  a  consequence,  he  has 
excited  the  malice  of  the  envious,  who  found  in 
him,  from  his  public  station,  a  mark  at  which  they 
might  send  their  venomous  darts  with  impunity. 
But,  with  all  this,  there  are  very  few,  if  any,  who 
know  him  personally,  and  do  not  value  him  highly 
as  a  friend. 

His  family,  having  suffered  some  diminution,  now 
consists  of  one  daughter  and  five  sons,  the  latter  of 
whom  are  all  engaged  with  their  father,  some  of 
them  being  also  associated  with  him  in  business. 
Notwithstanding  his  severe  loss,  by  the  unwarrant 
able  closing  up  by  the  legislature  of  a  banking  in 
stitution,  in  which  he  was  the  principal  stockholder, 
he  is  now  reputed  to  be  worth  two  or  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  besides  a  newspaper  establish 
ment,  free  of  incumbrance.  The  daily  circulation 
of  their  .paper  is  almost  incredible — 50,000  copies 
per  day — and  the  combined  weekly  issue  from  the 
establishment  is  not  less  than  400,000  sheets — a 
fruitful  source  for  the  accumulation  of  wealth. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  293 


JAMES  FENNIMORE  COOPER. 

This  gifted  writer,  who  has  thrown  a  lustre 
around  the  American  name,  which  no  time  nor  cir 
cumstances  can  diminish,  was  born  in  Burlington 
county,  New  Jersey,  on  the  15th  of  September, 
1789.  His  family  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  in 
the  country,  and  can  be  traced  back  distinctly,  to 
the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  By  the 
maternal  side,  his  American  pedigree  is  equally  an 
cient,  springing  from  a  Swedish  stock,  which 
dates  from  the  first  settlement  of  Delaware.  At  a 
very  early  period,  his  classical  education,  under  a 
private  tutor,  was  commenced ;  and,  at  the  age  of 
ten,  on  the  arrival  of  his  father,  Judge  Cooper,  at 
Cooperstown,  where  he  had  purchased  a  large  es 
tate,  Fennimore  was  placed  under  the  care  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Ellison,  of  Albany.  He  entered  Yale  col 
lege,  in  1802,  where  he  remained  mitil  1805;  when 
he  obtained  a  warrant  as  a  midshipman  of  the  navy. 
After  six  years  afloat,  during  which  time  "  he  gave 
brilliant  promise  of  future  excellence,"  he  resigned 
his  office  for  other  and  less  turbulent  engagements. 
On  the  1st  of  January,  1811,  he  married  Miss  De 
Lancey,  a  sister  of  the  present  bishop  of  the  western 
diocese  of  New  York.  After  spending  several  years 
in  different  parts  of  Europe,  he  has  now  settled 
down  upon  his  estate  at  Cooperstown.  Of  his  writ 
ings,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  speak.  Who  has 
not  lingered  with  delight  o'er  his  thrilling  narra 
tives  ?  and  whose  perceptions  of  the  beautiful  in  na 
ture,  are  not  refined  and  strengthened  by  his  de 
lightful  descriptions? 


294  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


ELIJAH  WARD, 

Is  a  near  relative  of  Gen.  Aaron  Ward.     He  was 
born  at  Sing  Sing,  Westchester  county,  New  York, 
on  the  15th  of  September,  1816.     He  is  the  son  of 
Israel  Ward,  now  deceased,  who  married  a  daugh 
ter  of  the   late   John  Bossell,  of  tbe  same  county 
Mr.  Israel  Ward  died    in  1820,  when  his  son  Elijah 
was  just  entering  upon  his  fifth  year,  leaving  but  a 
scanty  inheritance  to  his  family.     Young  Ward  was 
early  sent  to  the  village  academy,  where,  pursuing 
only  the  ordinary  English  studies,  he  continued  un 
til  his  twelfth  year.     At  that  period  he  entered  the 
store  of  Mr.  Amos  Dunning,   a  merchant  of  Sing 
Sing,  in  the  capacity  of  clerk.     He  remained  there 
for  five  years,   during  which  time,  without  the  as 
sistance  of  a  preceptor,  he  pursued  a  course  of  ge 
neral  reading  and  study.     His  employer  was  strong 
ly  attached  to  ljim,  and  their  parting  was  a  source 
of  mutual  regret. 

In  the  spring  of  1833,  with  a  firm  resolution  to 
rise  by  his  own  efforts,  he  removed  to  the  city  of 
New  York.  He  was  there  employed  as  a  clerk,  by 
Messrs.  Kibbin  &  Nicholls,  jobbing  merchants.  He 
continued  with  them  until  the  dissolution  of  the 
firm,  in  1837,  and  subsequently  with  Mr.  Kibbin 
alone.  By  these  gentlemen,  his  business  talents 
and  amiable  disposition  were  highly  appreciated, 
and  by  their  aid  he  became  thoroughly  conversant 
with  mercantile  transactions — a  knowledge  highly 
valuable  to  one  who  contemplated  the  practice  of 
law.  He  also,  during  that  period,  by  husbanding 
his  spare  minutes,  became  a  good  Latin  scholar. 

In  1834,  Mr.  Ward  became  a  member  of  the  Li 
terary  association,  an  institution  numbering  among 
its  members  many  young  men  now  holding  promi- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  295 

nent  positions  in  the  national  legislature.  In  1835, 
he  was  elected  vice-president,  and  subsequently 
acted  as  president  of  the  association.  In  1837,  he 
delivered  the  opening  address  before  the  Eclectic 
fraternity,  of  which  body  he  was  corresponding 
secretary.  It  was  a  highly  creditable  production. 
In  1838,  while  still  a  clerk,  he  attended  the  law 
school,  at  the  New  York  university.  In  January, 
1839,  after  a  hotly  contested  election,  he  was,  by 
acclamation,  elected  vice-president  of  the  New 
York  Mercantile  Library  association.  When  it  is 
considered,  that  at  that  time  there  were  over  5000 
members  of  this  institution,  many  of  whom  were 
anxious  for  the  office,  the  election  of  young  Ward 
affords  strong  evidence  of  the  estimation  in  which 
he  was  held.  In  the  June  following,  on  the  resigna 
tion  of  Mr.  Winthrop,  he  was  chosen  president  of 
the  association.  In  December,  1839,  owing  to  his 
contemplated  change  of  business,  to  the  regret  of 
his  numerous  friends,  he  declined  the  offer  of  a  re- 
nomination.  His  published  annual  report,  upon 
his  retirement  from  that  office,  secured  him  the  re 
putation  of  an  able  writer. 

In  February,  1840,  he  entered,  as  a  law  student, 
the  office  of  the  Hon.  W.  W.  Campbell,  of  New 
York  city.  In  May,  1843,  after  the  usual  examina 
tion,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  supreme 
court.  He  then  became  the  law  partner  of  Mr. 
Campbell,  and  continued  as  such  until  January, 
1847. 

We  believe  Mr.  Ward  is  a  democrat;  but,  zeal 
ously  pursuing  his  legal  studies,  he  has  wisely  and 
profitably  steered  clear  of  politics.  He  has  neither 
sought  nor  desired  political  advancement.  On  the 
contrary,  he  has  repeatedly  resisted  the  wishes  of 
his  friends  on  that  point;  believing,  and  justly  too, 
that  the  bar,  of  itself,  affords  a  sufficiently  ample 
field  for  distinction. 

In  the  management  of  the  important  cases  en- 


296  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

trusted  to  him,  Mr.  Ward  has  exhibited  ability  of 
no  common  order;  and,  should  his  life  be  spared, 
we  will  venture  to  prophecy  that  he  will  rank 
among  the  highest  of  his  profession. 

Possessing  a  fine  literary  taste,  he  has,  as  a  relax 
ation  from  severer  duties,  contributed  many  inte 
resting  articles  for  the  periodicals  of  the  day,  and 
which  have  received  high  commendation.  Did  our 
limits  permit,  we  would  gladly  enumerate  them. 
We  will  conclude  by  observing,  that  the  success  of 
Mr.  Ward  affords  an  additional  illustration  of  the 
advantages  resulting  from  self-reliance,  industry 
and  perseverance 


DAVID  HALE, 

Was  born  at  Lisbon,  Newent  society,  near  Nor 
wich  Connecticut,  on  the  25th  of  April,  1791.  Na 
than  Hale,  a  native  of  Coventry,  in  that  state,  an 
uncle,  was  an  officer  in  the  American  revolution, 
and  graduated  at  Yale  College,  in  1773.  In  the 
war  he  commanded  a  company  in  Col.  Knowlton's 
regiment,  and  was  with  the  army  in  the  retreat 
from  Long  Island,  in  1776.  Washington,  having 
applied  to  Knowlton  for  a  discreet  and  enterprizing 
officer  to  penetrate  the  enemy's  camp,  Hale  was 
named,  and  readily  volunteered  for  that  dangerous 
service.  He  passed  in  disguise  to  the  British  camp, 
but  on  his  return  was  apprehended  and  carried  be 
fore  Lord  Howe,  by  whom  he  was  ordered  for  exe 
cution  the  next  morning.  He  was  denied  a  Bible 
and  the  aid  of  a  clergyman!  The  letters,  full  of  forti 
tude  and  resignation,  which  he  had  written  to  his 
mother  and  sister,  were  destroyed.  He  was  hung, 


DAVID    HALE 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  297 

regretting  that  he  had  but  one  life  to  lose  for  his 
country. 

The  father  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was  the 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Lisbon;  but,  owing  to  ill 
health,  when  his  son  was  thirteen  years  old,  he  re 
moved  to  Coventry,  where  he  purchased  the  pater 
nal  estate. 

In  1809,  David  went  to  Boston,  where  he  became 
a  merchant's  apprentice.  His  untiring  industry, 
punctuality,  and  strict  integrity,  soon  won  him  the 
regard  of  his  employer,  who  reposed  unlimited  con 
fidence  in  him.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
service,  Mr.  Hale  commenced  business  on  his  own 
account. 

On  several  occasions,  he  wrote  for  the  newspa 
pers,  on  the  subject  of  theatres,  and  against  perma 
nent  funds  for  the  support  of  religious  and  literary 
enterprizes.  The  vigorous  style,  and  close  reason 
ing,  displayed  in  those  essays,  attracted  much  at 
tention,  and  caused  considerable  discussion,  through 
the  columns  of  the  press,  in  various  parts  of  the 
Union. 

Arthur  Tappan,  having  determined  on  establish 
ing  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  wrote  to 
Boston,  for  a  "business  editor;"  and  the  essays  of 
Mr.  Hale  were  the  cause  of  an  application  being 
made  to  him,  which  he  accepted.  Messrs.  Hale  & 
Halleck  are  now  the  proprietors  of  that  highly  re 
spectable  paper,  which,  perhaps,  ranks  as  high  as 
any  in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Hale  is,  it  is  said,  very  wealthy,  having  ac 
quired  the  whole  of  his  property  by  patient  indus 
try.  He  is  emphatically  a  working  man. 


38 


298  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 

See  that  aged  man,  verging  upon  foui;  score,  with 
a  countenance  glowing  with  enthusiasm,  expound 
ing  the  constitution  before  the  assembled  wisdom 
of  the  nation!  The  frail  tenement  of  that  body  is 
near  the  point  of  dissolution,  but  the  fires  of  the 
soul  are  still  burning  with  undirnrned  brilliancy. 
Venerable  patriarch !  connecting  a  past  age  of 
mighty  events  with  the  present,  when  will  the  last 
leaf  be  shaken  from  the  flower-stem  of  thy  life! 

John  Quincy  Adams  was  born  on  the  llth  of 
July,  1767.  At  the  age  of  eleven  he  was  at  school 
at  Paris,  where  he  received  the  paternal  care  of 
Franklin.  In  1780,  he  was  placed  in  the 'public 
school  at  Amsterdam,  and  afterwards  in  the  Uni 
versity  of  Leyden.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  be  went 
as  private  secretary  with  Mr.  Dean,  then  minister 
to  Russia.  In  his  eighteenth  year,  he  returned  to 
the  United  States,  and  in  1787  he  received  his  de 
gree  of  bachelor  of  arts,  at  Harvard  University. 
Having  studied  law,  and  been  admitted  to  the  bar, 
he  removed  to  Boston,  where  he  was  for  four  years 
engaged  in  the  business  of  his  profession.  It  was 
here  that  he  wrote  several  of  his  best  essays.  He 
was  subsequently  selected  by  Washington,  to  be  the 
American  minister  to  the  Netherlands;  and  from 
1794  to  1801,  he  was  employed  in  diplomatic  ser 
vices.  "One  of  the  last  official  acts  of  Washington, 
was  to  appoint  him  minister  to  Portugal;  but  his 
destination  was  changed  to  Berlin,  by  his  father, 
who  had  just  succeeded  to  the  presidency."  On  his 
return  to  the  United  States,  he  was  elected  to  the 
national  senate.  In  June,  1805,  he  was  chosen  pro 
fessor  of  rhetoric  and  oratory  in  Harvard  university. 
President  Madison  appointed  him  as  minister  to 


JOHN    QUINCY    ADAMS 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  299 

t 

Russia,  from  whence  he  was  transferred  to  Ghent, 
with  Messrs.  Clay,  Gallatin,  and  Bayard,  to  nego 
tiate  a  peace  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain.  He  was  afterwards  appointed  minister  to 
England,  where  he  remained  until  Mr.  Munro's  ac 
cession  to  the  presidency,  by  whom  he  was  recalled 
to  be  secretary  of  state.  After  being  eight  years  at 
the  head  of  the  cabinet,  Mr.  Adams  was  elected 
president  of  the  United  States.  His  presidential 
term  expired  in  1829,  when  fora  brief  period  he  re 
tired  to  his  native  town  of  Quincy.  In  1831,  he 
was  elected  to  the  house  of  Representatives,  of 
which  body  he  has  ever  since  been  a  member — 
never,  during  that  long  period,  having  been  absent 
from  his  seat  a  single  day,  except  from  sickness. 
For  nearly  three  score  years  has  he  kept  a  diary, 
which,  it  is  presumed,  embraces  one  of  the  best  his 
tories  of  the  country  that  could  possibly  be  written. 


JACOB  RIDGWAY. 

The  late  Jacob  Ridgway,  of  Philadelphia,  was 
born  in  1768.  He  was,  in  every  sense  of  the  word, 
a  self-made  man.  In  early  life,  he  was  a  journey 
man  ship-carpenter.  He  was  subsequently  Ameri 
can  consul  at  Antwerp.  He  also  resided  for  some 
time  at  Paris.  The  latter  portion  of  his  life  was 
spent  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  a  most  useful 
citizen,  being  constantly  engaged  in  enterprizes 
which  gave  employment  to  hundreds  of  mechanics. 
He  built  upwards  of  a  hundred  houses,  and  died 
worth  at  least  six  millions  of  dollars.  Unlike  many 
great  capitalists,  he  never  oppressed  the  poor  labor 
er,  nor  was  his  fortune  cemented  by  the  heart-drops 
of  the  orphan  and  the  widow. 


300  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


ORVILLE  DEWEY. 

The  Rev.  Orville  Dewey,  D.  D.,  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  ministers  of  the  Unitarian  church,  was 
born  at  Sheffield,  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts, 
on  the  28th  of  March,  1794.  He  graduated  at  Wil 
liams'  college,  and  studied  theology  at  Andover 
Theological  seminary.  The  first  ten  years  of  his 
professional  life  were  spent  at  Bedford,  Massachu 
setts,  and  the  last  ten  principally  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  where  he  still  labors  as  pastor  of  the  Church 
of  the  Messiah.  As  a  proof  of  the  estimation  in 
which  his  talents  were  held,  it  may  be  stated  that 
on  one  occasion,  during  the  temporary  absence  of 
the  late  Doctor  Channing  in  Europe,  Mr.  Dewey, 
by  request,  occupied  his  pulpit. 

The  reputation  of  Mr.  Dewey  as  an  author,  is 
already  so  firmly  established,  that  an  elaborate 
criticism,  either  of  his  manner  or  style,  would  be  a 
work  of  supererogation,  and  indeed,  in  the  writer, 
one  of  much  presumption.  It  will  be  sufficient  to 
say,  that  his  discourses  abound  in  the  purest  and 
most  exalted  precepts,  beautifully  adapted  to  almost 
every  condition  of  life,  and  replete  with  instruction, 
such  as  becomes  the  minister  who  himself  feels 
that  the  religion  he  preaches  is  divine. 

His  compositions  are  in  no  danger  of  being  classed 
with  those  of  a  certain  reverend  gentleman,  who 
having  inadvertently  preached  one  of  his  sermons 
for  the  third  time,  one  of  his  parishioners  having 
noticed  it,  said  to  him  after  service,  "  Doctor,  the 
sermon  you  preached  us  this  morning  having  had 
three  several  readings,  I  move  that  it  now  be 
passed." 

The  following  extract  from  a  sermon  on  "  Human 
Greatness,"  which  the  writer  heard  Mr.  Dewey 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  301 

deliver  at  Washington  city,  in  1847,  and  in  which 
allusion  was  made  to  many  scenes  during  his  tra 
vels  abroad,  will  enable  the  reader  to  form  some 
idea  of  his  style. 

"  I  have  seen  the  magnificence  of  all  ceremonial 
in  worship;  and  this  was  the  thought  (the  grandeur 
of  penitence)  that  struck  me  then.  Permit  me  to 
describe  the  scene,  and  to  express  the  thought  that 
arose  in  my  mind,  as  I  gazed  upon  it.  It  was  in 
the  great  cathedral  church  of  the  world;  and  it 
brings  a  kind  of  religious  impression  over  my  mind, 
to  recall  its  awfulness  and  majesty.  Above,  far 
above  me,  rose  a  dome,  gilded,  and  covered  with 
mosaic  pictures,  and  vast  as  the  Pantheon  of  old 
Rome ;  the  pillars  which  supported  it  were  as  large 
as  many  of  our  churches;  and  the  entire  mass  lifted 
to  five  times  the  height  of  this  building;  its  own 
height  swelling  far  beyond;  no  dome  so  sublime, 
but  that  of  heaven,  was  ever  spread  before  mortal 
eye.  And  lo !  again  stretching  away  into  dimness 
and  obscurity,  arches  beyond  arches,  fretted  with 
gold,  and  touched  with  the  rays  of  the  morning  sun. 
Around  me,  a  wilderness  of  marble!  with  colors  as 
variegated  and  rich  as  our  autumnal  woods;  co 
lumns,  pillars,  altars,  tombs,  statues,  pictures,  set 
in  ever  during  stone ;  objects  to  strike  the  beholder 
with  never  ceasing  wonder.  And  on  this  mighty 
pavement  stood  a  multitude  of  many  thousands; 
and  through  bright  lines  of  soldiery,  stretching  far 
down  the  majestic  aisle,  slowly  advanced  a  solemn 
and  stately  procession,  clothed  with  purple,  and 
crimson,  and  white,  and  blazing  with  rubies  and 
diamonds.  Slowly  it  advanced  amidst  kneeling 
crowds  and  strains  of  heavenly  music ;  and  so  it 
compassed  about  the  altar  of  God,  to  perform  the 
great  commemorative  rite  of  Christ's  resurrection. 
Expect  from  me  no  sectarian  deprecation ;  it  was  a 
goodly  rite,  and  fitly  performed.  But  amidst  solemn 
utterances  and  lowly  prostrations,  and  pealing  an- 


302  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

thems  and  rising  incense,  and  all  the  surrounding 
magnificence  of  the  scene,  shall  I  tell  you  what 
was  my  thought — •'  One  sigh  of  contrition,  one  tear  of 
repentance,  one  humble  prayer  to  God,  though  breathed 
in  a  crypt  of  the  darkest  catacomb,  is  worth  all  the 
splendors  of  this  gorgeous  ceremonial,  and  this  glorious 
temple.'" 


JOSEPH  STORY. 

This  eminent  jurist  was  born  at  Marblehead, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  18th  of  September,  1779. 
He  graduated  at  Harvard  college,  and  immediately 
afterwards  commenced  the  study  of  the  law.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-two  he  commenced  the  practice 
of  his  profession  at  Salem.  Such  was  his  high 
reputation,  that  three  years  afterwards  he  was  elect 
ed  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  in 
which  body  he  remained  several  years,  serving  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  time  as  speaker. 

In  1809  he  was  elected  a  member  of  congress. 
In  1811,  at  the  age  of  thirty-two,  Mr.  Story  was 
appointed  to  nil  the  vacancy  on  the  bench  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  court,  occasioned  by  the 
death  of  Judge  Gushing.  There  is  no  previous  in 
stance,  either  in  this  country  or  in  England,  of  so 
young  a  man  being  elevated  to  so  high  a  judicial 
position.  This  office  he  held  until  the  close  of  his 
life.  He  was  probably  one  of  the  most  industrious 
men  of  his  age.  He  died  at  Cambridge,  Massachu 
setts,  on  the  10th  of  September,  1845,  in  the  sixty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age. 


JOSEPH    STORY. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  303 


GEN.  ORRIN  GRIFFIN. 

It  has  been  beautifully  said,  that  patriotism  loves 
the  pure  air  of  the  country.  Her  chosen  home  is 
the  fresh  hill  side,  and  from  the  clear  breeze  of  the 
mountain,  she  draws  her  aliment.  By  bubbling 
brooks,  by  verdant  lawns,  and  in  the  quiet  content 
ment  of  pastoral  life,  she  rests  undisturbed  by  the 
wearying  bustle  and  changing  scenes  of  metropoli 
tan  existence. 

Gen.  Griffin,  whose  life  has  suggested  the  above 
remarks,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Stamford,  Dela 
ware  county,  New  York,  on  the  14th  of  February, 
1804.  This  region  of  country  is  undoubtedly  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  state,  and  the  strong 
and  vigorous  intellects  which  it  has  sent  forth  to 
the  battle  field  and  to  the  senate,  are  not  few.  Here 
is  the  fountain  of  the  Delaware,  and  its  silver  waters 
wind  musically  through  the  glen,  with  solemn 
murmurings  "as  though  many  spirits  were  whisper 
ing  about  man." 

Until  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  worked  upon  the 
farm.  He  then  spent  four  years  in  teaching.  At 
the  expiration  of  that  time,  he  embarked  in  the 
mercantile  business  at  Hobart,  in  his  native  county, 
and  where  he  still  continues  to  reside. 

In  1826  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  ensign  in 
the  eighty-seventh  regiment  of  infantry.  Having 
held  all  the  intermediate  offices,  he  was,  on  the  7th 
of  April,  1837,  elected  brigadier-general  of  the  twen 
ty-fifth  brigade  of  infantry,  including  seven  different 
commissions  in  eleven  years. 

Of  his  capacity  as  a  military  man,  it  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  speak.  A  strict  disciplinarian,  and  an 
enthusiastic  lover  of  military  science,  he  always 
retained  the  good  will  of  those  under  his  command. 


304  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

In  1842  he  took  his  seat  in  the  state  legislature. 
While  there,  as  chairman  of  the  military  commit 
tee,  he  brought  in  a  bill  to  amend  the  military  law 
of  the  state,  a  reform  in  which  had  so  long  been 
desired.  Among  the  amendments  proposed,  and 
which  has  since  become  a  law,  was  one  to  furnish 
the  uniform  companies  with  arms  from  the  state 
arsenal.  In  an  eloquent  and  pointed  speech,  he 
urged  the  propriety  of  this  distribution,  on  the 
ground  that  the  arms  had  been  purchased  under 
an  appropriation  of  congress  in  1807,  for  the  purpose 
of  arming  the  militia  of  the  United  States.  His 
bill,  although  attacked  by  the  political  journals  of 
both  parties  at  Albany,  passed  the  house  by  a  hand 
some  majority,  but  it  was  not  reached  by  the  senate. 

General  Griffin  was  one  of  the  few  who  voted  to 
sustain  the  speaker  of  the  house  in  his  decision, 
declaring  the  appropriation  of  money  for  the  geolo 
gical  survey  of  the  state,  required  a  two-third  vote, 
inasmuch  as  the  bill  making  the  appropriation,  pro 
vided  for  the  distribution  of  a  part  of  the  books  among 
private  individuals.  The  wisdom  of  this  decision 
has  been  acknowledged  by  subsequent  legislation. 

In  1844,  General  Griffin  was  a, delegate  to  the 
Baltimore  convention  from  the  state  of  New  York, 
and  he  voted  for  James  K.  Polk. 

During  the  unfortunate  anti-rent  troubles  in  1845, 
in  Delaware  and  the  adjoining  counties,  General 
Griffin,  on  many  occasions  at  the  imminent  peril 
of  his  life,  took  an  active  part  in  leading  bodies  of 
men,  for  the  suppression  of  the  riotous  proceedings 
of  the  misguided  "  Indians,"  which  resulted  in  the 
death  of  Sheriff  Steele.  He,  like  many  others,  was 
in  favor  of  applying  a  legislative  remedy  for  the 
grievances  complained  of,  although  he  could  not 
sanction  resistance  to  the  authorities. 

Gen.  Griffin  is  a  respectable  scholar.  He  is  tall, 
and  possesses  a  vigorous  frame  combined  with  an 
impulsive  temperament.  He  is  married. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  305 


SHEPHERD  KNAPP, 

Was  born  in  the  town  of  Cummington,  Hamp 
shire  county,  Massachusetts,  on  the  7th  of  January, 
1795.  His  father,  Jonathan  Knapp,  and  mother, 
Perses  Melvin,  were  natives  of  Massachusetts.  The 
former,  descended  from  the  puritans,  was  born  in 
Plymouth  county,  and  moved  thence  to  Cumming 
ton,  shortly  after  the  revolutionary  struggle,  in 
which  he  bore  an  active  part,  and  continued  to  re 
side  there  until  his  death.  As  an  honest  and  in 
dustrious  farmer,  he  was  much  respected,  and  the 
duties  of  husband,  father,  neighbor  and  Christian, 
he  discharged  with  fidelity  and  zeal.  He  died  at  a 
good  old  age,  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.  Per 
ses,  his  wife,  was  originally  from  Concord,  near 
Boston,  her  American  ancestors  having  emigrated 
to  this  country  from  Scotland. 

Shepherd  Knapp,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
the  fifth  son.  His  early  years  were  spent  on  the 
farm,  discharging  such  duties  as  children  usually 
perform.  His  education  was  confined  to  the  usual 
elementary  branches,  and  as  in  the  case  of  many 
other  New  England  boys,  it  was  acquired  during 
the  winter  months,  his  time  and  labor  being  deem 
ed  too  valuable  to  be  spared  from  the  farm  at  any 
other  period. 

In  the  spring  of  1812,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he 
came  to  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  entered 
the  counting  house  of  the  late  Gideon  Lee,  who 
formerly  resided  at  Worthington,  a  town  adjoining 
Cummington,  and  to  whom  the  family  of  Mr. 
Knapp  were  well  known.  He  continued  with  Mr. 
Lee,  as  clerk,  until  the  spring  of  1819,  when  he 
was  taken  by  the  latter  into  partnership.  During 
his  clerkship  he  had,  by  industry  and  frugality,  ac- 
39 


306  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

cumulated  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  In  addi 
tion  to  this,  he  had,  by  his  devotion  to  business,  ac 
quired  a  character  for  sagacity  and  ability,  of  far 
greater  value  than  his  little  store  of  wealth. 

In  the  spring  of  1^20,  Mr.  Knapp  was  married  to 
Miss  Catharine  Louisa  Kumbel,  daughter  of  Wil 
liam  Kumbel,  a  native  of  Niemried,  Germany,  who 
emigrated  to  New  York  before  the  war  of  the  revo 
lution,  and  where  his  descendants  still  continue  to 
reside. 

After  his  marriage,  Mr.  Knapp  continued  to  de 
vote  himself  zealously  to  his  business,  and  knowing 
that  "  minutes  are  the  gold  dust  of  time,"  every 
hour  had  its  appropriate  duties.  By  the  strict  ob 
servance  of  the  rules  which  he  adopted,  he  was 
now  rapidly  accumulating  a  fortune. 

The  first  act  of  his  life  which  brought  him  promi 
nently  before  the  public,  was  the  responsible  part 
he  took  in  the  celebrated  conspiracy  trials  in  New 
York,  in  1825.  As  a  director  of  the  Tradesman's 
bank,  owing  to  certain  suspicious  movements,  Mr. 
Knapp,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Lee,  his  partner, 
and  the  late  Elisha  King,  applied  to  the  chancellor 
for  an  injunction  against  the  bank,  restraining  the 
newly  elected  directors  from  making  any  more  loans 
or  discounts.  This  was  a  bold  proceeding,  and  an 
assumption  of  great  responsibility.  In  a  few  days, 
however,  the  wisdom  and  necessity  of  the  measure 
became  apparent.  The  particulars  of  the  astound 
ing  disclosures  which  followed,  the  explosion  of  the 
Life  and  Fire  Insurance  company,  with  other  insti 
tutions  similarly  situated,  involving  in  ruin  and  dis 
grace  hundreds  of  prominent  citizens,  and  the  pro 
secutions  which  followed,  may  be  found  in  the  pa 
pers  of  the  day. 

In  1832,  Mr.  Knapp  was  appointed  by  the  board 
of  directors  of  the  United  States  bank,  director  in 
their  branch  bank  in  the  city  of  New  York — he  be 
ing  chosen  as  the  representative  of  the  hide  and 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  307 

leather  interest.  He  continued  to  discharge  the  du 
ties  of  that  station,  until  within  a  brief  period  of  the 
winding  up  of  the  affairs  of  that  institution. 
.  In  1837,  Mr.  Knapp  was  elected  to  the  honorable 
position  of  president  of  the  General  Society  of  Me 
chanics  and  Tradesmen  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
one  of  the  most  useful  and  influential  societies  of 
the  state.  In  1838,  he  was  ejected  president  of  the 
Mechanics'  Banking  association,  a  new  institution, 
just  going  into  operation.  He  had,  however, 
scarcely  taken  his  seat  at  the  board,  when  he  was 
invited  to  the  presidency  of  the  Mechanics'  bank, 
then  vacated  by  the  death  of  the  late  Jacob  Loril- 
lard,  who  had  a  short  time  before  been  unanimous 
ly  chosen,  in  a  moment  of  great  peril  to  the  bank, 
to  undertake  its  extrication  from  embarrassment. 
While  Mr.  Lorillard  was  engaged  in  that  laborious 
and  vexatious  task,  his  health  failed,  and  he  sur 
vived  but  a  few  weeks,  his  death  being  caused  by 
his  great  mental  and  physical  exertions,  on  behalf 
of  the  bank.  Mr.  Knapp,  succeeding  to  this  post 
of  labor  and  responsibility,  successfully  carried  out 
what  his  predecessor  had  begun.  The  credit  of  the 
bank  was  revived,  its  usefulness  restored,  and,  with 
Mr.  Knapp  still  at  its  head,  it  ranks  among  the  first 
in  credit,  influence  and  popular  favor. 

On  the  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Lee,  in  the  spring  of 
1839,  Mr.  Knapp,  although  a  much  younger  man, 
also  retired  from  active  business,  declining  to  con 
tinue  the  house  alone.  He  and  his  partner  had 
made  the  bulk  of  their  estate  together,  had  always 
lived  on  the  most  intimate  and  confidential  terms, 
and  so  continued  up  to  the  period  of  Mr.  Lee's 
death. 

Mr.  Knapp  takes  an  active  part  in  many  of  the 
public  institutions  of  the  city  and  state,  in  savings' 
banks,  rail  road  and  insurance  companies.  In  the 
benevolent  institutions  of  the  city,  he  is  most  un 
tiring  and  devoted,  and  with  his  means,  have 


308  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

grown  his  charities.  The  elements  of  Mr.  Knapp's 
character,  spring  from  that  source  of  all  virtue — 
"  truth  without  affectation."  Not  boasting  of  pro 
found  learning,  and  without  pretension  to  any  thing 
he  does  not  possess,  he  has,  by  energy  and  perse 
verance,  risen  to  eminence  and  distinction.  He  is 
known  and  honored,  for  the  kindness  of  his  heart, 
liberality  and  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  city 
and  state;  in  addition  to  which,  he  possesses  a 
sound  judgment,  and  a  large  share  of  that  valuable 
quality,  so  useful  to  the  community,  "common 


sense." 


ANTHONY  BARCLAY 

/ 

The  annexed  engraving  was  executed  for  this 
work,  under  the  impression  that  the  distinguished 
individual  whom  it  represents,  was  an  American 
citizen.  This  is  an  error,  as  he  does  not  yet  enjoy 
that  honor.  His  portrait  will,  however,  recall  to 
many,  recollections  of  the  very  courteous  treatment 
they  have  received  at  his  hands,  during  their  offi 
cial  intercourse  with  him  as  British  consul.  He  is, 
in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  an  English  gentleman. 
Although  extremely  tenacious  of  the  rights  of  the 
country  whose  interests  he  represents,  perhaps  no 
man  admires  more  ardently  the  peculiar  beauty 
of  American  institutions. 

Mr.  Barclay  continues  to  reside  in  New  York  city; 
and  his  office  being  in  Barclay  street,  has  probably 
led  to  the  erroneous  statement  that  his  ancestors 
were  American,  and  that  the  street  was  named  from 
them. 


ANTHONY    BARCLAY. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  309 


JAMES  BROOKS. 

Hard  the  labor,  small  the  gain, 

Is  there  in  making  bread  from  brain. 

"  Stand,  O  man !  upon  the  hill  top — in  the  stillness 
of  the  evening  hour — and  gaze  upon  the  glorious 
world  around  thee  !  See,  where  the  mists,  soft  and 
dim,  rise  over  the  green  meadows,  through  which 
the  rivulet  steals  its  way !  See  where,  broadest  and 
stillest,  the  wave  expands  to  the  full  smile  of  the 
setting  sun — and  the  willow  that  trembles  on  the 
breeze — and  the  oak  that  stands  firm  in  the  storm, 
are  reflected  back,  peaceful  both,  from  the  clear 
glass  of  the  tides !  See,  where,  begirt  by  the  gold 
of  the  harvests,  and  backed  by  the  pomp  of  a  thou 
sand  groves — the  roofs  of  the  town,  bask,  noiseless 
in  the  calm  glow  of  the  sky.  Not  a  sound  from 
those  abodes  floats  in  discord  to  thine  ear — only 
from  the  church  tower,  soaring  high  above  the  rest, 
perhaps,  faintly  heard  through  the  stillness,  swells 
the  note  of  the  holy  bell.  Along  the  mead  low 
skims  the  swallow — on  the  wave,  the  silver  circlet, 
breaking  into  spray,  shows  the  sport  of  the  fish. 
See,  the  earth,  how  serene,  though  all  eloquent  of 
activity  and  life !  See  the  heavens,  how  benign, 
though  dark  clouds,  by  yon  mountain,  blend  the 
purple  with  the  gold !"  How  beautiful !  But  see 
that  keen,  earnest-looking  man,  in  the  fourth  story 
of  a  dingy  building,  with  a  pile  of  newspapers,piled 
around  upon  his  desk !  While  the  glorious  sun  is 
rolling  on  his  golden  course,  and  the  wind  is  waft 
ing  onward  the  winged  ship,  like  an  eagle,  over  the 
ocean,  nature  lying  in  gorgeous  and  most  superb 
scenery,  this  man  sits  straining  his  eyes  to  search 
out  food  for  the  public  mind.  He  is  a  slave,  for  he 
is  an  editor ! 


310  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

James  Brooks,  one  of  the  most  eminent,  and  the 
most  industrious  writers  of  the  present  day,  was 
born  at  Portland,  Maine,  in  1811.  His  father,  who 
commanded  a  privateer  during  the  last  war  with 
England,  was  lost,  with  his  vessel,  at  sea,  when  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  about  four  years  of  age. 
Hence,  like  many  other  self-taught  men,  he  was 
thrown  upon  the  world  at  a  period  when  the  ma 
jority  of  youths  first  enter  school.  With  an  energy 
which  nothing  could  damp,  and  a  perseverance  sel 
dom  equalled,  he  conquered  difficulties  by  attempt 
ing  them,  and  soon  acquired  a  stock  of  knowledge 
which  few  other  men,  similarly  situated,  have  ever 
attained. 

Having  previously  edited  several  other  papers, 
Mr.  Brooks,  with  his  brother,  in  1836,  started  the 
New  York  Express;  which  paper,  in  conjunction 
with  Mr.  Townsend,  the  business  editor,  he  still 
conducts. 

In  1841,  Mr.  Brooks  married    Miss  Mary  Ran 
dolph,  of  Virginia. 

11  Brooks' s  Letters  from  Europe,"  in  1835,  publish 
ed  in  the  Portland  Advertiser,  and  copied  into  every 
paper  in  the  Union,  would  of  themselves  place  his 
name  among  the  very  front  rank  of  writers.  He 
was,  in  1  837,  the  competitor  of  Albert  Smith,  of 
Maine,  for  a  seat  in  congress.  We  believe  it  was 
a  tie  vote,  and  on  the  second  trial,  the  editorial  du 
ties  of  Mr.  Brooks  detaining  him  in  New  York, 
while  his  competitor  was  in  the  field  during  the 
whole  canvass,  the  latter  was  victorious. 

Mr.  Brooks  was  recently  elected  a  member  of  the 
New  York  legislature. 


JESSE    BUEL 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  311 


JESSE  BUEL. 

The  late  Judge  Buel  was  born  at  Coventry,  Con 
necticut,  on  the  4th  of  January,  1778.  Being  the 
youngest  of  a  family  of  fourteen  children,  he  enjoyed 
few  facilities  for  early  education,  never  having  had, 
during  his  entire  life,  more  than  six  months'  school 
ing.  He  was  brought  up  a  printer,  and  passed 'a 
large  portion  of  his  active  and  useful  life  in  super 
intending  the  publication  of  various  newspapers, 
commencing  with  the  editing  of  the  Troy  Budget, 
and  closing  with  that  of  the  Albany  Cultivator.  It 
is,  however,  the  agricultural  labors  and  example  of 
Judge  Buel,  that  have  rendered  his  life  the  common 
property  of  mankind. 

In  the  year  1821  he  purchased  a  farm  of  eighty- 
five  acres  near  the  city  of  Albany,  which  then 
formed  a  part  of  what  was  appropriately  termed 
the  "  Sandy  Barrens."  That  part  now  called  the 
"  Albany  Nursery,"  then  lay  an  open  common,  un 
improved,  covered  with  bushes,  and  apparently 
doomed  to  everlasting  sterility.  These  unpromising 
appearances  which,  to  a  common  mind  would  have 
presented  insuperable  obstacles,  seemed  to  increase 
the  efforts,  rather  than  damp  the  ardor  of  Judge 
Buel.  Difficulties  and  obstructions  were  with  him 
every  day  familiars.  His  mind  had  been,  in  some 
measure,  formed  under  their  influence.  He  recog 
nized  and  acted  on  the  doctrine,  that  where  God 
has  done  little,  it  is  incumbent  on  man  to  do  much; 
and  that  nothing  in  this  world  is  ever  lost,  by  court 
ing  situations  requiring  the  expenditure  of  effort. 
As  a  practical  commentary  on  the  truth  of  his  doc 
trine,  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  same  acre  of 
land  which  in  1821  he  purchased  for  thirty  dollars, 
he  left  at  his  death,  in  October,  1839,  worth  two 
hundred  dollars. 


312 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


The  efforts  of  Judge  Buel  have  greatly  tended  to 
render  honorable,  as  well  as  profitable  and  improv 
ing,  the  pursuits  of  agriculture.  He  taught  men 
that  agricultural  prosperity  resulted  neither  from 
habit  nor  chance;  that  success  was  subject  to  the 
same  law  in  this,  as  in  other  departments  of  indus 
try,  and  before  it  could  be  secured  must  be  deserved; 
that  mind,  intellectual  power,  and  moral  purpose, 
constituted  as  essential  parts,  in  the  elements  of 
agricultural  prosperity,  as  in  those  of  any  other; 
and  all  these  truths  he  enforced  by  precept,  and 
illustrated  by  practice.  By  these  means  he  has 
called  into  the  field  of  agricultural  labor  a  higher 
order  of  mind ;  has  elevated  the  standard  of  agri 
cultural  attainments;  and  has  tended  to  render  this 
extensive  department  of  industry  as  intelligent, 
respected,  and  honorable,  as  it  ever  has  been. con 
ceded  to  be  useful,  healthy,  and  independent. 

The  writings  of  Judge  Buel  are  principally  to  be 
found  in  the  many  addresses  he  has  delivered;  in 
the.  six  volumes  of  his  Cultivator;  in  the  small 
volume  published  by  the  Harpers  of  New  York;  and 
in  his  last  work,  the  "  Farmer's  Companion,"  pub 
lished  by  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education, 
and  intended  for  the  use  of  common  schools. 

Judge  Buel  died  at  Danbury,  Connecticut,  on  the 
4th  of  October,  1839,  of  an  attack  of  the  bilious 
fever.  He  was  on  his  way  to  Norwich  and  New 
Haven,  to  deliver  addresses  to  the  agricultural  and 
horticultural  societies  of  those  places.  He  died  in 
the  very  field  of  his  labors;  in  the  midst  of  his  use 
fulness;  in  the  full  maturity  of  his  mental  faculties. 

The  publication  of  the  Cultivator  is  continued  at 
Albany  by  Luther  Tucker,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  of 
great  energy  of  character,  and  eminently  qualified 
for  such  a  work.  Its  circulation  is  immense,  as 
neither  pains  nor  expense  are  spared  to  secure  valu 
able  information.  Mr.  Tucker  has  a  beautiful 
country  seat  at  Mount  Hope  near  Albany. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  313 


MALBONE  WATSON. 

When  Mason  was  preparing  the  case  of  E.  K. 
Avery,  and  had  examined  about  two  hundred  wit 
nesses,  somebody  called  to  see  him.  The  legal 
gentleman  sent  word  that  he  was  occupied,  and 
could  not  be  interrupted.  "  But  the  man  is  a  wit 
ness — a  rnethodist  minister." 

"  Call  him  up,"  said  Mason.  "  Well,  sir,  what 
can  you  testify  ?" 

"  I  have  had  a  vision — two  angels  have  appeared 
to  me,  and  told  me  that  Brother  Avery  is  inno 
cent— 

"Let  them  be  summoned,"  said  Mason,  as  he  re 
sumed  his  work. 

Had  the  learned  subject  of  this  memoir  been  in 
the  place  of  Mason,  it  is  certain  that  he  would  have 
returned  a  similar  answer;  for  Judge  Watson  is 
one  of  the  few  men,  who  come  at  once  to  the  point, 
and  who,  in  professional  business,  say  nothing,  un 
less  they  have  something  relevent  to  say. 

Judge  Watson  was  born  in  the  town  of  Rensse- 
laerville,  Albany  county,  on  the  27th  of  August, 
1804.  He  is  the  son  of  Wheeler  and  Sarah  Watson, 
who  emigrated  from  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  to 
said  county,  as  some  of  its  first  settlers,  while  it 
was  yet  a  wilderness.  His  father  was  of  New  Eng 
land's  best  stock,  one  of  nature's  noblemen,  whose 
sterling  character  for  honesty  was  so  well  appreci 
ated  by  his  fellow  citizens,  that  after  holding  for  a 
long  period,  many  honorable  offices,  he  was  elected 
to  represent  Rensselaer  county  in  the  New  York 
legislature.  Although  a  mechanic,  such  was  his 
fondness  for  reading,  that  he  was  familiar  with  al 
most  every  principle  in  Blackstone,  and  to  him  his 
son  may  be  somewhat  indebted  for  the  present 
40 


314  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

proud  position  which  he  holds,  as  one  of  the  jus 
tices  of  the  supreme  court. 

Malbone  early  exhibited  an  aptness  for  learning, 
and,  even  in  the  common  schools  of  the  district, 
bore  of  all  the  honors  off  his  class.  He  prepared  for 
college  at  Greenville  academy,  Greene  county,  and 
graduated  at  Union  college,  in  February,  1822,  be 
ing  not  quite  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  immedi 
ately  afterwards  commenced  the  study  of  law,  in 
the  office  of  Henry  Stone,  Esq.,  of  Rensselaerville, 
and  completed  his  studies  with  Messrs.  Foot  &  Ed 
wards,  of  the  city  of  Albany.  In  May,  1825,  not 
having  attained  his  twenty-first  year,  he  was  ad 
mitted  to  the  bar.  He  commenced  practice  in 
Wind  ham,  Greene  county,  New  York,  where,  al 
though  an  entire  stranger,  and  a  mere  boy,  he  al 
most  immediately  entered  upon  a  lucrative  prac 
tice.  After  remaining  there  for  three  years,  and 
practising  for  about  the  same  period  in  the  adjacent 
town  of  Durham,  he  removed  to  Catskill,  the  place 
of  his  present  residence.  Here,  although  his  com 
petitors  were  some  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  state, 
he  soon  stood  at  the  head  of  the  bar.  He  was  al 
most  immediately  appointed  district-attorney  of 
Greene  county,  and  during  the  term  of  six  years 
which  he  officiated,  only  four  prisoners  tried  by  him 
were  ever  acquitted,  although  in  the  liberal  spirit 
for  which  he  is  so  distinguished,  he  never  from  pro 
fessional  pride,  pushed  the  conviction  of  a  prisoner, 
unless  he  believed  him  guilty.  Would  that  there 
were  many  such !  It  was  repeatedly  said  of  him, 
that  "  no  man  ever  performed  the  duties  of  that  of 
fice  more  liberally,  or  with  less  fear  of  giving  of 
fence.  Finding  its  laborious  duties  to  interfere 
with  his  other  professional  duties,  although  strongly 
urged  by  the  judges  to  continue,  he  resigned. 

In  1838,  Gov.  Marcy  appointed  him  surrogate  of 
the  county  of  Greene.  He  was  reappointed  by  Gov. 
Bouck,  in  1842.  This  office  he  held,  with  credit  to 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  315 

/ 

himself,  and  with  satisfaction  to  the  county,  until 
his  election,  in  June,  1847,  under  the  new  constitu 
tion,  to  the  office  of  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court 
of  the  state  of  New  York.  This  honorable  and 
highly  responsible  office,  was  never  solicited  or 
sought  by  him;  but  when  nominated  by  his  friends, 
and  no  man  has  stronger  ones,  finding  a  deep  and 
well  matured  scheme  on  foot  to  defeat  him,  through 
the  treachery  of  pretended  political  friends,  and 
which  would  have  discouraged  a  man  of  less  ener 
gy,  he  encountered  and  beat  them.  His  election, 
under  these  circumstances,  is  considered  as  one  of 
the  proudest  triumphs  in  the  political  history  of 
New  York.  There  could  not  have  been  a  stronger 
proof  af  his  popularity.  With  a  disposition  natural 
ly  ardent,  Justice  Watson  has  mingled  deeply  in 
politics.  With  a  quickness  of  perception  seldom, 
surpassed,  prompt,  energetic,  and  generous  in  the 
extreme,  he  has  secured  a  host  of  ardent  and  de 
voted  friends.  Few  men  are  better  qualified  for 
the  bench,  and  although  his  career  in  that  position 
has  been  short,  he  has  given  proof  of  the  possession 
of  powers,  which  must  eventually  place  him  in  the 
very  front  rank  of  American  jurists. 

Imitating  the  example  of  Chief  Justice  Marshal, 
whose  favorite  amusement  during  his  leisure  hours, 
was  the  pitching  of  quoits,  Justice  Watson,  unlike 
many  others,  is  too  wise  to  neglect  physical  exer 
cise.  Whenever  able  to  snatch  a  short  respite  from 
his  professional  labors,  he  has,  with  his  dog  and 
gun,  struck  into  the  deep  forests  and  mountain  soli 
tudes  of  the  Catskills,  where,  with  an  almost  uner 
ring  aim,  he  would  "  snap  a  judgment"  against  ma 
ny  an  unfortunate  deer,  and  not  unfrequently  ob 
tain  "  a  verdict,  with  heavy  damages,"  against  a 
bear. 

On  one  occasion,  about  two  years  since,  during 
one  of  these  excursions,  in  Sullivan  county,  he 
stood  with  his  double-barreled  fowling  piece  heavi- 


316  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

ly  loaded  with  buck  shot,  waiting  for  a  deer  which 
his  dogs  had  started.  Suddenly  hearing  the  leaves 
rustle  near  him,  he  elevated  his  gun,  but  instead  of 
the  expected  deer,  he  beheld  a  huge  bear,  making 
towards  him.  To  this  proceeding,  however,  the 
judge  immediately  filed  a  "  bill  of  exceptions,"  in 
the  shape  of  a  load  of  buck  shot.  The  bear,  indi 
cating  symptoms  of  a  "  demurrer,"  the  contents  of 
the  remaining  barrel  were  "  deposited"  with  him 
for  safe  keeping,  "  arid  other  purposes,"  whereupon 
bruin  exhibited  no  signs  of  Swartwouting,  but  fell 
down,  uttering  the  most  discordant  yells.  We  be 
lieve  the  skin  of  the  bear  is  now  used  by  his  victor 
as  a  sleigh  robe.  In  this  and  other  instances,  the 
natural  coolness  and  intrepidity  of  the  judge  alone 
saved  his  life. 

Judge  Watson  was,  some  years  since,  married  to 
a  lady  of  great  worth,  and  he  has  several  children, 
of  whom  he  has  every  reason  to  be  proud.  A  sister 
of  his  is  the  wife  of  the  Hon.  Zadock  Pratt. 

The  residence  of  the  judge  is  on  the  heights  at 
Catskill,  and  commands  a  view  of  surpassing 
beauty. 

Judge  Watson  is  one  of  the  fortunate  few,  whose 
peculiar  temperament  invariably  leads  them  to  look 
upon  the  bright  side  of  things,  and  who,  with  the 
poet,  can  exclaim  : 

There  are  times  when  the  storm-gust  may  rattle  around, 
There  are  spots  where  the  poison-shrub  grows  ; 

Yet  are  there  not  hours  when  nought  else  can  be  found, 
But  the  south  wind,  the  sunshine,  and  rose? 


who  will  of  the  world  as  a  desert  of  thrall,  x 
There  is  bloom,  there  is  light  in  the  waste  ; 
Though  the  chalice  of  life  hath  its  acid  and  gall, 
There  are  honey-drops  too  for  the  taste. 


$£/ 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  317 


CHESTER  JENINGS. 

Chester  Jenings  was  born  in  the  town  of  Elling 
ton,  Connecticut,  on  the  19th  of  March,  1791.  His 
father,  John  Jenings,  was  a  native  of  the  same 
place.  His  ancestors,  who  were  connected  with  the 
early  settlement  of  the  country,  were  from  England. 
His  mother,  the  daughter  of  C.  Lyon,  Esq.,  of  Green 
field,  was  a  woman  of  great  energy  of  character, 
and  remarkable  perseverance.  After  his  father's 
death,  his  mother  early  instilled  into  the  mind  of 
her  son,  principles  of  economy  and  prudence,  which 
were  the  surest  guarantees  of  his  subsequent  suc 
cess  in  life.  How  powerful  is  the  influence  of  a 
mother!  What  impressions  can  be  more  strong 
and  more  lasting,  than  those  thus  received  upon  the 
mind  in  the  freshness  and  susceptibility  of  youth ! 
Being  obliged  to  depend  upon  his  own  resources, 
and  having  cheerfully  undertaken  the  support  of  his 
widowed  parent  and  sisters,  his  first  earnings  were 
devoted  to  the  purchase  of  a  comfortable  place  of 
residence  for  them ;  and  with  the  same  filial  regard 
did  he  devote  himself  to  the  happiness  of  his  mother 
to  the  day  of  her  death.  What  a  beautiful  moral 
spectacle  does  this  afford !  Says  a  learned  writer, 
"  I  defy  you  to  show  me  a  son  that  discharged  his 
duty  to  his  parents,  who  ever  permanently  failed  in 
the  honest  and  laudable  pursuits  of  life;"  and  we 
have  the  assurance  of  a  higher  authority,  that  he 
who  honoreth  his  father  and  mother,  shall,  by  no 
means,  go  unrewarded. 

After  being  engaged  in  various  avocations,  Mr. 
Jenings,  in  1813,  found  his  way  to  New  York  city, 
where  he  was  employed  by  Solomon  Gibson,  Esq. 
It  was  at  this  period  that  he  attracted  the  attention 


318  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

and  won  the  friendship  of  Ezra  Weeks,  Esq.,  who 
was  then  owner  of  the  City  hotel.  On  the  retire 
ment  of  Mr.  Gibson  in  1817,  Mr.  Jenings,  under  the 
patronage  of  Mr.  Weeks,  took  a  lease  of  the  hotel, 
which  he  successfully  kept  for  nineteen  years,  sus 
taining  its  well  earned  reputation  as  one  of  the 
most  respectable  hotels  in  the  United  States. 

In  the  spring  of  1S36,  on  account  of  his  declining 
health,  he  retired  from  a  post,  the  duties  of  which 
he  had  so  well  discharged.  He  then  visited  Eng 
land,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  succeeding  year  went 
to  the  West  Indies,  where  he  passed  the  winter, 
enjoying  the  balmy  climate  of  Santa  Cruz,  St. 
Thomas,  Porto  Rico,  and  Cuba.  In  the  spring  of 
1837,  he  returned  to  New  York,  much  invigorated. 
In  the  ensuing  fall  he  visited  France,  Italy,  Austria, 
Prussia,  Switzerland,  Belgium,  Holland,  England, 
Ireland,  and  Scotland.  Having  availed  himself  of 
the  best  medical  advice  in  those  countries,  he,  after 
an  absence  of  eighteen  months,  returned  to  his 
native  land  with  his  health  completely  restored. 
During  his  European  tour  he  gained  many  warm 
friends,  not  less  by  his  kindness  of  heart,  than  by 
his  suavity  and  intelligence. 

By  the  failure  of  the  United  States  bank  in  184&, 
he  sustained  heavy  losses,  but  with  a  well  balanced 
mind  he  did  not  spend  time  in  useless  regrets.  He 
returned  to  his  old  occupation,  the  City  hotel  hav 
ing  been  closed  for  some  time,  where  he  was  wel 
comed  by  a  large  circle  of  old  friends,  and  wjiere 
he  still  remains. 

Mr.  Jenings  furnishes  a  striking  example  of  what 
may  be  accomplished  by  untiring  perseverance, 
with  unity  of  purpose.  In  person  he  is  about  the 
medium  height.  His  forehead  is  good,  and  he  has 
an  intelligent  eye.  As  a  host  he  is  ever  attentive, 
and  as  a  friend,  warm,  generous,  and  confiding. 
In  his  dealings  with  the  world,  he  is  noted  for  sound 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  319 

judgment  and  benevolence,  and  to  those  who  know 
him  best,  it  has  often  been  felt 

That  e'en  his  failings  lean  to  virtue's  side. 

NOTE. — The  City  Hotel  in  Broadway,  says  Grant 
Thorburn,  was  built  in  the  summer  and  autumn  of 
1794,  and  is  the  first  house  in  the  city,  and  also 
in  America,  whose  roof  was  covered  with  slates. 
Having  set  up  the  timbers  for  the  roof,  and  nailed 
the  rough  planks  whereon  to  lay  the  slates,  they 
came  to  a  dead  stand  for  lack  of  nails  to  fasten  on 
the  slates.  Every  hardware  store  in  the  city  was 
ransacked  in  vain,  as  prior  to  this  no  slates  had 
been  used  on  the  continent;  therefore  no  one  im 
ported  any  of  the  nails.  There  were  nailmakers  in 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  enough,  but  they  could 
only  make  shingle  nails.  There  is  a  certain  art  in 
forming  the  head  of  the  slate-nail,  which  only  nail- 
makers  from  Europe  are  up  to. 

In  this  dilemma  they  applied  to  me,  who  at  that 
time  was  hammering  ten-penny  nails  at  No.  55 
Liberty  street. 

I  think  it  was  twenty-five  years  after  the  hotel 
was  finished,  that  happening  to  pass  that  way,  I 
observed  the  slaters  stripping  the  roof,  preparatory 
to  raising  the  building  another  story.  I  climbed 
up  stairs,  got  on  the  roof,  and  gathered  a  handful 
of  my  nails,  which  I  put  in  a  bottle,  pouring  wine 
and  oil  among  them  to  keep  them  from  rust ;  and 
they  are  now  as  fresh  as  the  hand  that  made  them 
fifty  years  ago. 


320  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


BENJAMIN  B.  FRENCH, 

Was  born  in  Chester,  Rockingham  county,  New 
Hampshire,  on  the  4th  day  of  September,  1800. 
He  was  the  son  of  Daniel  and  Mercy  French.  His 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Brown.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Brown,  of  Chester,  and  sis 
ter  of  Francis  Brown,  an  eminent  divine,  who,  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  in  1821,  was  president  of 
Dartmouth  college. 

Mr.  French  was  the  only  child  of  his  mother, 
who  died  when  he  was  eighteen  months  old.  His 
father  was  a  lawyer,  of  high  standing,  and  was  for 
several  years  attorney-general  of  the  state  of  New 
Hampshire. 

The  subject  of  this  biography  received  a  good 
common  school  and  academic  education,  and  it 
was  the  earnest  desire  of  his  father,  and  friends, 
that  he  should  enter  college,  which  he  declined  to 
do.  And  although  it  was  the  intention  of  his  father 
that  he  should  be  educated  for  the  bar,  Benjamin, 
having  a  taste  for  mechanics,  opposed  this  intention, 
with  a  view  of  being  either  a  mechanic  or  a  mari 
ner;  and  so  much  was  his  heart  set  upon  one  or 
other  of  these  employments  for  a  livelihood,  that, 
in  1819,  he  went  to  Boston,  with  a  view  of  going 
to  sea.  Disappointed  in  obtaining  a  berth  on  board 
a  ship,  he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  army  of  the 
United  States,  and  was  stationed  at  Fort  Warren, 
on  Governor's  island,  in  the  harbor  of  Boston,  with 
a  detachment  of  the  eighth  regiment  of  infantry. 
He  was,  soon  after  enlisting,  appointed  a  sergeant, 
and  performed  his  duty  faithfully,  for  about  four 
months,  when,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  his 
friends,  who  provided  a  substitute,  he  left  the  army 
on  the  12th  day  of  September,  1819. 




AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  321 

He  then  returned  to  his  father's,  and,  although 
contrary  to  his  own  inclination,  commenced  the 
study  of  the  law,  which  he  pursued  with  diligence, 
for  five  years,  that  being  the  time  fixed  by  the  bar 
rules  of  New  Hampshire. 

At  the  February  term  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas,  for  the  county  of  Rockingham,  held  at  Ports 
mouth,  in  18*25,  Mr.  French  was  admitted  an  at 
torney  at  law;  and  in  the  month  of  March  follow 
ing,  commenced  the  practice,  at  Hookset,  in  the 
county  of  Merrimack,  from  whence,  in  September, 
he  removed  to  Sutton.  Having  married  Elizabeth 
S.  Richardson,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  William  M. 
Richardson,  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of 
New  Hampshire,  he  may  be  said  to  have  com 
menced  the  business  portion  of  his  life  upon  his 
own  responsibility,  in  Sutton,  where  he  fairly  set 
tled  down,  at  law  and  housekeeping,  in  Novem 
ber,  1825. 

Mr.  French  entered  immediately  into  full  prac 
tice,  and  with  his  industry  and  natural  business  tact, 
would,  probably,  have  taken  a  very  respectable 
place  at  the  bar,  had  he  continued  in  his  profession. 
He  was  elected  assistant  clerk  of  the  senate  of  New 
Hampshire,  in  June,  1826,  to  which  office  he  was 
twice  reflected. 

In  September,  1827,  he  removed  to  Newport,  in 
the  county  of  Sullivan,  and  was  immediately  ap 
pointed  clerk  of  the  superior  court  and  court  of 
common  pleas  of  that  county,  the  duties  of  which 
offices  he  discharged,  acceptably  to  everyone,  until 
the  winter  of  1833-4. 

In  1831,  Mr.  French  was  elected  a  representative 
from  the  town  of  Newport,  in  his  native  state,  and 
was  reflected  for  the  two  succeeding  years.  In  the 
legislature,  he  took  a  high  stand,  not  only  as  a 
party  leader,  but  as  a  legislator.  He  was  placed 
upon  important  committees,  as  their  chairman,  and 
was,  in  1833,  a  member  of  the  joint  committee  of 
41 


322  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

the  legislature,  appointed  to  repair  to  Boston,  and 
invite  Gen.  Jackson,  then  on  his  presidential  tour, 
to  visit  the  New  Hampshire  legislature.  For  three 
years  of  the  time  Mr.  French  resided  at  Newport, 
he  was  the  editor  of  the  New  Hampshire  Spectator' 
a  popular  democratic  paper;  and  we  have  only  to 
say,  as  evidence  of  the  manner  in  which  he  con 
ducted  it,  that  its  subscription  list  more  than  dou 
bled  while  it  was  under  his  control.  It  was  after 
wards  united  with  the  New  Hampshire  Argus,  and 
edited  by  Hon.  Edmund  Burke,  and  is  still  publish 
ed  at  Newport. 

In  December,  1833,  Walter  S.  Franklin,  clerk  of 
the  house  of  representatives  of  the  United  States, 
appointed  Major  French*  an  assistant  clerk  in  his 
office;  upon  being  notified  of  which,  he  repaired  to 
Washington,  and,  on  the  28th  day  of  December, 
1833,  entered  upon  its  duties.  He  soon  after  resign 
ed  his  clerkships  in  New  Hampshire,  and  removing 
his  family  to  Washington,  became  a  permanent 
resident  of  that  city. 

As  an  assistant  clerk,  he  soon  became  popular 
with  the  house,  and  useful  as  an  officer.  He  held 
the  situation  of  chief  clerk  of  the  office  under  Mr. 
Garland,  and  Col.  McNulty,  and  when  the  latter 
left  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  house,  on  the  18th  of 
January,  1845,  Major  French  was  unanimously 
elected  to  that  high  and  responsible  office.  He 
performed  the  duties  of  the  office  so  entirely  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  house,  that  at  the  opening  of  the 
29th  congress  he  was  unanimously  reflected.  Since 
that  time  he  has  continued  to  discharge  the  labori 
ous  duties  of  the  clerkship  of  the  house  of  repre 
sentatives  in  a  manner  that  has  won  for  him  the 
reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  best 
clerk  the  house  ever  had.  He  has  qualifications 


*  Mr.  French  held  a  major's  commission  in  the  New  Hampshire 
m  'itia,  and  he  is  so  generally  addressed  by  that  title,  that  we  as 
sume  it. 


I 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  323 

which  fit  him  peculiarly  and  eminently  for  the  sta- 
cion. 

It  is  known  that  the  construction  of  the  hall  of 
the  house  renders  it  exceedingly  difficult  for  most 
men  to  be  heard,  in  reading  or  speaking  in  it,  except 
by  those  in  their  immediate  neighborhood.  Mr. 
French's  voice,  though  not  strong,  is  clear,  pene 
trating  and  firm;  and  when  reading  at  the  clerk's 
desk,  every  word  he  utters  is  conveyed  distinctly  to 
all  parts  of  the  hall.  He  has  an  acquaintance  with 
the  rules  of  the  house,  and  with  parliamentary  law 
generally,  probably  unequalled  by  any  other  person 
in  the  country — and  a  memory  so  retentive  that  he 
can  refer  to  decisions  and  precedents,  bearing  upon 
every  case  that  arises,  with  a  promptness  and  accu 
racy  perfectly  astonishing.  The  writer  of  this  has 
frequently,  as  a  matter  of  curiosity,  taken  up  points 
of  difficulty  in  the  construction  of  rules,  and  thrown 
them  before  Maj.  French,  in  the  midst  of  duties  at 
the  desk  requiring  his  attention,  and  has  never 
found  him  at  fault — he  being  always  ready  to  say 
when,  by  whom,  and  how  the  point  had  been  de 
cided.  In  addition  to  his  superior  fitness  for  the 
office,  Mr.  French's  equable  temper  and  obliging 
disposition  have  made  him  quite  a  favorite  with 
each  successive  house  with  which  he  has  been  con 
nected,  and  he  accordingly  possesses  a  high  degree 
of  personal  popularity.  He  is  a  decided  democrat 
in  his  political  principles;  but  the  strict  integrity 
and  impartiality  of  his  official  conduct  has  won  for 
him  the  respect,  esteem,  and  entire  confidence  of 
all  parties  in  the  house. 

As  an  indication  of  his  indefatigable  industry,  as 
well  as  the  extent  to  which  his  business  talent  is 
appreciated,  it  may  be  mentioned  here,  that  he  is, 
at  this  time,  clerk  of  the  house  of  representatives 
of  the  United  States — an  alderman  of  the  city  of 
Washington — grand  master  of  the  Masons  of  the 
District  of  Columbia — and  president  of  the  Wash- 


324  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

ington  and  New  York  Magnetic  Telegraph  company. 
Yet  such  is  the  extraordinary  energy  and  capability 
of  the  man,  that  he  discharges  the  multifarious 
duties  of  all  these  offices  as  fully  and  as  faithfully 
as  though  he  devoted  his  whole  time  and  attention 
to  each.  Amid  all  his  business  engagements,  in 
the  fulfilment  of  which  no  man  is  more  prompt  or 
scrupulous,  he  found  abundant  leisure  to  deliver 
scientific  lectures — to  write  highly  finished  articles 
for  the  best  magazines,  and  other  literary,  political, 
and  scientific  periodicals — to  indulge  his  fancy  for 
field  sports — to  conduct,  with  great  regularity,  a 
very  extensive  correspondence — and  to  "  cultivate 
the  muses,"  of  which  "  gentle  companie  of  mine  " 
we  think  he  is  no  ordinary  favorite. 

Although  he  has  been,  for  some  years,  a  resident 
of  Washington,  he  retains  a  deep  and  ardent  love 
for  New  England,  of  which  time  does  not  seem,  in 
any  degree,  to  abate  the  fervency. 

As  a  man,  Maj.  French  is  liberal,  generous,  and 
charitable,  with  a  moral  character  above  reproach. 
As  a  citizen,  he  is  public  spirited  and  exemplary. 
As  a  friend,  warm  hearted,  reliable,  and  zealous. 
In  all  the  relations  of  life — as  a  man — citizen — 
public  officer — he  has  been  distinguished  for  the 
scrupulous  discharge  of  his  whole  duty,  and  inflex 
ible  fidelity  to  the  numerous  trusts  committed  to 
his  charge. 

NOTE. — Since  the  above  was  written,  the  whigs 
now  having  a  majority  in  the  house,  the  subject  of 
our  sketch,  although  unanimously  supported  by  his 
own  and  by  many  of  the  opposite  party,  among 
whom  was  the  venerable  John  Quincy  Adams,  was 
not  reflected  for  the  thirtieth  congress.  A  better 
man  cannot  easily  be  found,  or  a  more  efficient 
officer. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  325 


EDWIN  WHITE. 

This  artist  was  born  on  the  21st  of  May,  1817,  at 
South  Hadley,  Massachusetts,  a  village  surrounded 
by  all  that  is  beautiful  in  scenery,  and  one  of  the 
most  delightful  in  New  England.  When  a  boy,  it 
always  afforded  him  great  delight  to  rove  in  the 
woods,  to  gaze  upon  the  beauties  of  nature,  and  for 
hours  to  follow  the  brooks  up  some  deep,  dark  ra 
vine.  At  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  made  the  ac 
quaintance  of  Mr.  Collins,  a  celebrated  portrait 
painter,  of  Albany,  who  taught  him  to  set  the  pa 
lette,  which  was  about  all.  With  this  limited 
knowledge,  Mr.  White  commenced  painting  on  his 
own  account,  in  his  native  village.  He  subsequent 
ly  went  to  Hartford,  and  thence  to  Bridgeport,  in 
Connecticut,  where  he  spent  some  four  or  five  years, 
painting  portraits,  when  an  event  occurred  which 
had,  and  will  continue  to  have,  an  important  bear 
ing  on  his  life.  "I  had,"  said  he,  in  a  letter  to  a 
friend,  "  the  imprudence  to  get  married — and  that 
imprudence  happened  to  be  the  best  thing  I  ever 
did  in  my  life." 

In  1840,  Mr.  White  removed  to  New  York  city, 
with  the  determination  to  devote  himself  to  the 
study  of  painting  according  to  the  principles  of 
the  art;  he  having  previously  been  governed  entire 
ly  by  feeling.  With  this  view  he  placed  himself 
under  the  instruction  of  a  very  able  teacher,  and  the 
admirable  pictures  from  time  to  time  exhibited  in 
New  York,  afford  proof  of  his  success.  He  is  mo 
dest  as  he  is  meritorious,  and  must,  in  a  few  years, 
hold  no  inferior  place  among  the  artists  of  our 
country. 


326 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


MRS.  HAMILTON. 

Age  silvers  o'er  the  hair  and  dims  the  eye, 

And  things  are  not  as  they  were  wont  to  seem ; 

But,  unforgotten  one  !  though  years  pass  by, 
The  memory  of  the  heart,  it  still  is  green. 

What  a  world  of  thoughts  and  feelings  arise  in 
perusing  old  letters!  "What  lessons  do  we  read 
in  the  silliest  of  them;  and  in  others  what  beauty, 
what  charm,  what  magical  illusion  wraps  the  senses 
in  brief  enchantment!  But  it  is  brief,  indeed. 
Absence,  estrangement,  death,  the  three  great  ene 
mies  of  mortal  ties,  start  up  to  break  the  spell.  The 
letters  of  those  who  are  dead,  how  wonderful.  We 
seem  to  live  and  breathe  in  their  society.  The 
writers  once,  perhaps,  lived  with  us  in  the  com 
munion  of  friendship,  in  the  flames  of  passion,  in 
the  whirl  of  pleasure;  in  the  same  career,  in  short, 
of  earthly  joys,  earthly  follies,  and  earthly  infirm 
ities.  We  seem  again  to  retrace  these  paths  to 
gether;  but  are  suddenly  arrested  by  the  knowledge, 
that  there  lies  a  vast  gulf  between  us  and  them. 
The  hands  which  traced  those  characters  are  mould 
ering  in  the  tomb,  eaten  by  worms,  or  already 
turned  to  dust. 

Letters  from  those  we  once  loved,  who  perhaps 
are  still  living,  but  no  longer  living  for  us.  It  may 
be  they  grew  tired  of  us;  it  may  be  we  grew  tired 
of  them ;  or  the  separation  may  have  arisen  from 
mutual  imperfections  in  character.  Still  the  letters 
recall  times  and  seasons  when  it  was  otherwise, 
and  we  look  upon  ourselves  out  of  ourselves,  as  it 
were  with  much  melancholy  interest.  That  identity 
of  the  person,  and  that  estrangement  of  the  spirit, 
who  can  paint  it  ? 

There  is  still  a  third  class  of  old  letters  on  which 


MRS.    HAMILTON. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  327 

the  heart  delights  to  expatiate;  those  of  the  still 
living,  bat  the  absent.  Oh !  what  do  they  not  af 
ford  of  delight?  They  have  the  whole  witchery  of 
beauty,  love,  and  truth  in  them,  without  one  speck 
or  flaw  to  lower  the  tone  of  that  enchantment  they 
contain." 

The  above  remarks  were  suggested  by  the  perusal 
of  a  letter  written  by  the  venerable  relict  of  General 
Alexander  Hamilton,  nearly  fifty  years  ago.  Those 
fingers  are  now  tremulous  with  age,  and  that  eye 
which  might  have  maddened  an  anchorite,  is  now 
dim.  In  a  few  years  at  most,  will  her  earthly  career 
be  endedy  but  her  memory  will  dwell  long  in  the 
grateful  hearts  of  those,  who  have  been  the  recipi 
ents  of  her  bounty.  Venerable  lady,  piercing  was 
thy  shriek  of  agony,  when  the  news  of  thy  husband's 
murder  was  brought  thee  as  thou  wast  worshipping 
in  the  house  of  God.  But  "  sweet  are  the  uses  of 
adversity."  In  the  darkest  thunder  cloud  sleeps 
the  brightest  lightning,  and  though  on  earth  there 
may  be  many  sorrows,  yet  there  is  a  better  land 

"  Where  every  heart  rejoins  its  kindred  heart, 
Where,  in  a  long-  embrace  that  none  may  part, 
Fulfilment  meets  desire ;  and  that  fair  shore 
Beholds  its  dwellers  happy  evermore." 

Mrs.  Hamilton  must  be  nearly  eighty  years  of 
age.  She  is  head  directress  of  the  New  York 
Orphan  Asylum  at  Bloomingdale,  of  which  excel 
lent  institution,  she  and  Mrs.  Bethune,  the  second 
directress,  were  the  founders.  Previous  to  the  es 
tablishment  of  this  benevolent  institution,  there 
was  no  public  receptacle  for  the  numerous  unfor 
tunate  infants,  which  are  so  frequently  left  by  their 
depraved  parents,  to  perish  in  the  streets  of  the 
great  metropolis. 


328  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


JACOB  KNAPP. 

The  following-  sketch  of  this  celebrated  baptist 
minister,  whose  preaching  has,  under  the  blessing 
of  God,  produced  such  abundant  fruit,  in  many  por 
tions  of  the  Union,  cannot  but  be  read  with  deep 
interest.  It  was  at  Washington  city,  on  a  glorious 
spring  afternoon,  that  the  attention  of  the  writer 
was  first  called  to  Mr.  Knapp,  as  in  the  clear  wa 
ters  of  the  Potomac,  whose  shores  were  lined  with 
thousands  of  spectators,  this  modern  apostle  was 
baptizing  numbers  upon  a  profession  of  their  faith. 
A  magnificent  spectacle  was  that !  and  tears,  which 
had  seldom  flowed  before,  were  seen  in  many  an 
eye.  So  affected  was  one  notorious  profligate,  on 
seeing  his  wife  baptized,  that  he  threw  off  his  coat, 
and  marched  into  the  water,  begging  to  be  baptized 
with  her! 

The  Rev.  Jacob  Knapp,  Jun.,  was  born  Decem 
ber  7th,  1799,  in  the  town  of  Otego,  Otsego  county, 
New  York.  His  father's  name  was  Jacob,  the  son 
of  Luke  Knapp.  His  mother's  name  was  Lucinda 
Mayhew.  His  father,  though  a  shoemaker  by 
trade,  spent  the  most  of  his  days  in  agricultural 
pursuits;  and,  though  poor  in  this  world's  goods, 
was  industrious  and  virtuous.  Being  a  member  of 
the  episcopal  church,  until  after  his  son  Jacob  had 
entered  the  ministry,  he  brought  up  his  children  to 
abstain  from  all  bad  habits,  and  to  attend  to  the 
forms  of  religion. 

From  six  years  of  age  to  eighteen,  the  subject  of 
this  narrative  dwelt  with  his  parents  in  Masonville, 
Delaware  county,  New  York,  and  was  brought  up 
to  apply  himself  indefatigably  to  all  kinds  of  hard 
labor,  seldom  being  allowed  a  holiday,  winter  or 
summer.  This  excessive  industry  arose  in  part 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  329 

from  principle,  and  in  part  from  necessity;  his  mo 
ther  leaving-  twelve  children,  at  her  decease,  and 
his  father  having  eight  more  by  his  second  wife,  all 
of  whom  had  to  be  supported  by  the  industry  of  the 
family.  In  the  seventeenth  year  of  his  age,  he  was 
called,  in  the  providence  of  God,  to  follow  his  mo 
ther  to  her  grave.  The  serious  impressions  produced 
by  an  early  religious  education,  on  the  rnind  of  Ja 
cob,  were  deepened  by  this  bereavement,  and  con 
tinued  to  increase  until  they  resulted  in  a  hope  of  a 
glorious  immortality  beyond  the  grave.  Often  did 
he  lay  himself  on  her  grave,  in  the  cool  pale  rays  of 
the  moon,  bathed  in  tears,  in  prayer  to  God  for  the 
salvation  of  his  soul. 

In  the  winter  of  1819,  he  professed  his  faith  in 
Christ  by  being  baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
baptist  church  of  Masonville,  Delaware  county, 
New  York.  Immediately  after  this,  he  began  to  be 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  his  duty  to  preach  the 
gospel;  but,  conscious  of  his  weakness,  un worthi 
ness,  and  want  of  education,  he  could  not  think  of 
entering  upon  a  work  so  responsible,  without  devot 
ing  some  years  to  the  cultivation  of  his  mind;  to 
this  he  felt  himself  as  really  called  of  God,  as  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  From  his  nineteenth  to  his 
twentieth  year,  the  last  year  of  his  stay  with  his 
father  (for  his  father  gave  his  sons  the  last  year  of 
their  minority),  his  mind  was  constantly  occupied 
with  the  duties,  qualifications  and  work  of  the  minis 
try.  The  world  had  no  charms — he  sighed  and 
prayed  for  the  opening  of  some  way  by  which  his 
mind  might  be  cultivated,  and  he  thereby  qualified 
for  usefulness.  At  this  time  he  was  living  with  his 
father,  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Allegany.  Being 
young,  and  unacquainted  with  the  world,  and  hav 
ing  no  knowledge  of  any  institution  or  society,  by 
which  indigent  young  men,  who  were  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  could  be  aided,  he  was  at  a  loss  to 
know  which  way  to  turn.  On  the  second  day  of 
42 


330  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

December,  1818,  he  shouldered  his  pack,  and  "went 
out,  not  knowing  whither  he  went."  His  footsteps 
were  first  directed  to  Delaware  county,  where  an 
opportunity  presented  itself  for  him  to  work  for  his 
board  and  attend  school.  When  he  started  upon 
his  journey  of  two  hundred  and  ten  miles,  he  had 
but  five  dollars,  and  wishing  to  make  the  most  of 
them,  to  further  the  great  end  in  view,  he  perform 
ed  this  journey  without  expending  more  than  fifty 
cents,  and  yet  he  was  as  independent  as  the  king  in 
his  chariot,  for  he  paid  for  all  he  had,  (his  lodging), 
and  ate  his  meals  from  his  pack,  drinking  the  pure 
water  from  the  mountain's  base,  under  the  blue 
arch  of  heaven.  After  struggling  on  for  some 
months,  overcoming  obstacle  after  obstacle,  chop 
ping  cord  wood  by  moonlight,  to  meet  the  necessi 
ties  of  nature,  he  accepted  the  invitation  of  an  uncle 
in  Spencertown,  eighteen  miles  east  of  Hudson,  to 
board  with  him  and  attend  school. 

After  the  winter  had  rolled  off,  and  the  spring  of 
1821  was  approaching,  he  found  his  scanty  stock  of 
clothes  exhausted,  his  cash  reduced  to  twenty-five 
cents,  the  great  end  for  which  he  had  sacrificed  all 
things,  as  far  ahead  as  ever,  and  there  was  no  friend 
to  whom  he  could  look  for  aid.  Beg  he  could  not, 
but  to  dig  he  was  not  ashamed.  He  finally  resolved 
to  return  to  Delaware  county,  and  let  himself  for  a 
time  at  rafting  and  running  lumber,  as  he  could 
command  good  wages  in  that  service.  He  then 
took  his  pack,  containing  what  few  articles  of  cloth 
ing  he  had,  and  provisions  for  a  journey  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles,  with  but  twenty-five 
cents  in  his  pocket,  and  started  off.  A  severe  storm 
of  snow  and  rain  commenced  the  day  he  set 
out  on  his  journey,  which  continued  for  three 
days.  When  he  arrived  at  the  North  river,  he  found 
the  expense  of  crossing  to  be  twenty-five  cents; 
but,  upon  telling  the  ferryman  that  he  had  but 
twenty-five  cents  in  the  world,  and  a  hundred  miles 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  331 

yet  to  travel,  a  discount  of  one-half  was  readily 
made,  leaving  him  now  one  York  shilling  for  one 
hundred  miles  travel.  After  beating  on  through 
rain  and  snow  until  towards  evening,  a  gentleman 
gave  him  an  invitation  to  ride,  and  while  calling  to 
feed  the  team  and  warm  himself,  his  pack,  contain 
ing  his  all,  was  left  in  the  sleigh.  On  returning, 
they  found  that  either  a  dog,  or  some  inhuman  be 
ing,  worse  than  a  dog,  had  taken  the  pack  with  its 
contents.  It  was  now  that  the  school  of  affliction 
was  accomplishing  no  inconsiderable  part  of  Mr. 
K's  education.  He  found  himself  among  strangers, 
far  from  friends  or  acquaintances,  homeless,  friend 
less,  and  pennyless.  He  thought  of  his  father,  but 
he  was  three  hundred  miles  off — of  his  mother,  but 
she  was  in  her  grave.  That  night  he  traveled  until 
a  late  hour,  put  up  at  a  tavern,  without  a  dry  thread 
in  his  garments,  hungry,  fatigued,  "cast  down,  but 
not  destroyed."  The  next  morning  he  put  on  his 
wet  garments,  paid  half  his  York  shilling  for  his 
lodging,  and  traveled  on.  He  called  at  different 
places,  inquired  for  work,  and  told  his  circum 
stances,  but  no  one  wanted  laborers,  and  no  one  in 
vited  him  to  eat  a  mouthful  of  food,  until  about 
noon,  when  a  kind  hearted  lady  gave  him  a  dinner, 
which  was  very  thankfully  received.  Strengthened 
by  this,  and  encouraged  by  the  promises  of  God,  he 
completed  his  journey.  Here,  on  the  head  waters 
of  the  Delaware,  he  labored  a  few  weeks.  Having 
supplied  himself  with  summer  clothing,  and  money 
enough  to  pay  his  tuition  for  one  quarter,  he  started 
for  the  academy  in  the  town  of  Butternuts,  under 
the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Collins.  Here  he 
made  an  effort  to  procure  his  board  for  labor, 
in  which  he  was  unsuccessful.  Mr.  Collins  hav 
ing  learned  the  circumstances  of  Mr.  Knapp,  in 
vited  him  to  board  with  him,  promising  him  what 
work  he  had,  agreeing  to  wait  for  the  remainder 
until  it  could  be  paid,  by  teaching  or  otherwise. 


332  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

Here  he  found  himself  behind  the  most  of  the 
school,  and  his  being  unaccustomed  to  study,  com 
bined  with  sedentary  habits,  his  health  was  taxed, 
his  patience  tried,  and  his  ambition  chastened.  At 
the  close  of  the  term,  however,  the  principal  of  the 
academy  awarded  him  the  premium  for  excellence 
in  performing  his  part  at  the  public  exhibition;  this 
premium,  however,  had  nothing  to  do  with  general 
scholarship.  Harvest  time  coming  on,  he  was  com 
pelled  to  leave  his  studies  for  a  time,  to  enter  the  har 
vest-field,  to  replenish  his  scanty  stock  of  means  for 
prosecuting  his  studies,  during  which  season  he 
procured  enough  to  defray  the  expenses  of  a  second 
quarter.  Through  all  these  efforts  to  prosecute  his 
studies  he  subjected  himself  to  great  self-denial, 
wearing  cotton  pants,  and  going  in  his  shirt  sleeves 
in  summer,  to  keep  his  coat  for  winter.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  quarter,  thinking  himself  not  suffi 
ciently  qualified  to  teach  in  that  section,  yet  being 
compelled  to  engage  in  some  business  to  further  his 
object,  he  thought  of  going  west  to  engage  a  school 
for  a  season.  But  in  the  mean  time,  a  powerful  re 
vival  broke  out,  and  his  whole  soul  was  enlisted  in 
it.  A  general  anxiety  pervaded  the  entire  commu 
nity,  to  have  him  remain.  The  ladies,  without  his 
knowledge,  prepared  him  a  suit  of  clothes,  and  in 
vited  him  to  board  among  them  the  next  quarter, 
free  of  expense.  This  act  of  kindness,  so  unex 
pected,  and  so  much  needed,  almost  broke  his 
heart,  and  produced  gratitude  inexpressible,  accom 
panied  with  an  effusion  of  tears.  In  1821,  he  taught 
a  school  in  New  Lisbon,  Otsego  county,  and  paid  off 
all  his  former  bills. 

In  the  spring  of  1821,  he  was  licensed  to  preach, 
by  the  church  in  Masonville,  with  which  he  first 
united,  and  was  commended  by  that  church  to  the 
literary  and  theological  institution  in  Hamilton, 
which  was  then  in  its  infancy.  The  course  of 
study  at  that  time  was  three  years,  which  he  com- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  333 

pleted,  and  received  his  diploma,  in  June,  1824. 
He  then  received  and  accepted  a  call  from  the  bap 
tist  church  in  Springfield,  Otsego  county,  New  York. 

In  September  following  he  was  ordained  to  the 
gospel  ministry,  and  in  the  same  month  was  mar 
ried  to  Miss  Electa  Paine.  After  serving  this  peo 
ple  with  some  success,  for  five  years,  he  resigned, 
and  accepted  a  call  from  the  infant  church  in  Wa- 
tertoAvn,  Jefferson  county,  New  York.  During  his 
labors  with  them,  for  three  years,  he  baptized  about 
three  hundred  persons.  He  then,  under  the  reviv 
ing  influences  of  God's  spirit,  (poured  out  upon  the 
churches,  the  ministry,  and  the  impenitent,)  receiv 
ed  great  light,  and  experienced  a  great  change,  both 
in  his  views  and  feelings,  as  well  as  in  his  charac 
ter  and  sense  of  action.  From  a  clear  conviction 
of  duty,  he  resigned  his  charge  as  pastor,  and  de 
voted  himself  to  the  work  of  an  evangelist.  This 
step  was  taken  in  1832.  At  this  time  he  had  a 
wife  and  four  children,  for  whom  to  provide,  their 
expenses  yearly — and  as  there  were  no  benevolent 
societies  to  aid  evangelists,  and  the  churches  in  that 
section  could  hardly  support  their  pastors,  he  could 
see  no  way  by  which  the  expenses  of  his  family 
could  be  met.  But,  being  clear  in  his  convictions 
of  duty,  he  resolved  to  go  as  far  as  what  means  he 
had  could  carry  him,  and  trust  to  God  for  the  fu 
ture. 

The  various  steps  which  the  providence  of  God 
have  marked  out  for  him,  from  that  time  to  the  pre 
sent,  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  the  scenes  through 
which  he  has  passed,  and  the  success  with  which 
his  labors  have  been  crowned,  cannot  be  particular 
ized  in  this  brief  sketch.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that 
during  a  period  of  twenty-three  years,  he  has 
preached  eight  thousand  five  hundred  sermons,  and 
baptized,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  upwards 
of  four  thousand  persons.  Some  thirty  thousand 
persons  have  made  a  profession  of  religion,  in  con 


334  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

nection  with  his  labors ;  more  or  less  of  whom  have 
a  standing  in  all  the  evangelical  denominations  of 
this  country.  Between  thirty  and  forty  of  those 
converted  under  his  labors,  have  entered  the  gospel 
ministry. 

It  is  well  known  in  Baltimore,  and  its  vicinity,  that 
the  great  Washington ian  reformation  can  be  traced 
to  a  sermon  which  Mr.  Knapp  preached  to  the 
Young  Men's  Temperance  society  in  that  city. 

The  peculiar  style  of  Mr.  Knapp,  it  would  be  dif 
ficult  to  describe.  It  is  that,  however,  which 
brings  the  intellect  down  through  the  heart,  and 
melts  its  precious  metals  in  that  hot  furnace.  There 
is  an  edge  in  all  he  says.  "  Playful,  but  not  light; 
imaginative,  but  not  dramatic;  using  common 
words,  with  uncommon  power;  speaking  to  you, 
as  if  he  expected  to  convince  you ;  decided,  and 
full  of  earnestness;"  he  is  cheerful,  without  levity, 
and  grave  without  gloom;  mighty  in  the  pulpit, 
but  no  less  mighty  out  of  it;  he  is  an  evangelist 
that  need  not  to  be  ashamed. 

We  cannot  close  this  memoir  without  giving  a 
single  illustration  of  his  original  and  pointed  style. 
Preaching,  very  recently,  from  the  text,  "  Lord, 
save  me  or  I  perish,"  Mr.  Knapp  observed,  that  had 
the  exordium  to  Peter's  prayer  been  one-fourth  as 
long  as  that  of  many  modern  preachers,  the  sinking 
disciple  must  have  been  at  least  seventy  feet  below 
the  surface,  before  his  petition  could  have  been  ut 
tered  ! 


CASSIUS  M.  CLAY. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  335 


CASSIUS  M.  CLAY. 

In  presenting  the  portrait  of  Capt.  Clay,  it  is  not 
our  intention  to  dwell  upon  the  moral  courage  he 
displayed  by  the  establishment  of  an  abolition  paper 
at  Louisville,  in  the  midst  of  a  slave  holding  state; 
nor  upon  the  exciting  scenes  which  attended  the 
removal  of  his  press  to  Cincinnati.  We  notice  him 
only  in  his  military  capacity.  At  an  early  stage  of 
the  Mexican  war,  he  with  many  of  his  brave  com 
panions  in  arms  having  been  captured,  upon  their 
liberation,  a  card  was  published  by  his  men,  dated 
Lexington,  Kentucky,  Oct.  20,  1847.  The  follow 
ing  is  an  extract : 

"  When  Captain  Henry  made  his  escape,  and  the 
Mexican  commander,  excited  by  the  event,  gave 
orders  for  the  massacre  of  the  Americans,  Captain 
Clay  exclaimed,  '  Kill  the  officers — spare  the  sol 
diers!'  A  Mexican  major  ran  to  him.  presenting  a 
cocked  pistol  to  his  breast.  He  still  exclaimed: 
'Kill  me — kill  the  officers — but  spare  the  men — 
they  are  innocent!'  Who  but  C.  M.  Clay,  with  a 
loaded  pistol  at  his  head,  and  in  the  hand  of  an 
enraged  enemy,  would  have  shown  such  magnani 
mous  self  devotion  ?  If  any  man  ever  was  entitled 
to  be  called  'the  soldier's  friend,'  he  is.  He  was 
ever  watchful  and  kind  towards  us,  allowing  every 
privilege  that  would  be  granted  by  our  enemies — 
turned  all  orders  and  commands  into  advice  and 
consolation;  and  upon  our  march  to  the  city,  would 
take  turn  by  turn,  allowing  us  to  ride  his  mule,  that 
we  might  stand  the  march  of  forty  miles  a  day — 
divided  the  last  cent  of  money  he  had  with  us,  and 
resorted  to  every  sacrifice  to  make  us  happy  and 
comfortable.  He  disposed  of  his  mule,  when  he 
found  it  necessary — the  only  animal  he  had;  his 


336  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

buffalo  rug,  his  watch,  and  all  his  clothes  hut  one 
suit,  and  supplied  our  wants.  He  not  only  acted 
in  this  manner  towards  those  under  his  immediate 
command,  but  to  all;  and  expressed  his  regret  that 
he  was  unable  to  do  more. 

"We  make  no  comments  upon  the  character  and 
conduct  of  Captain  Clay.  We  state  facts — we  feel, 
but  have  no  language  to  express  our  feelings." 


JOHN  L.  PERRY. 

Perhaps  few  professional  men  have  experienced 
greater  difficulties  than  Doctor  Perry.  Previous  to 
commencing  his  studies,  he  was  a  journeyman 
printer.  While  thus  employed,  he  won  the  regard 
of  a  benevolent  physician  of  Albany,  who  aided 
him  in  the  study  of  medicine.  He  was  afterwards 
assisted  by  another  medical  friend,  and  eventually 
took  his  degree  of  M.  D.  He  then,  we  believe, 
commenced  on  his  own  account  at  Saratoga ;  but 
having  no  funds,  and  being  sadly  discouraged  by 
the  lack  of  patronage,  he  having  the  misfortune  to 
look  young,  he  returned  to  the  printing  office,  where 
he  remained  until  his  marriage  with  a  very  amiable 
lady.  Matters  then  began  to  take  a  new  turn.  He 
resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Saratoga, 
with  increasing  success,  until  he  now  enjoys  an 
enviable  reputation. 

How  truly  has  it  been  observed  that  love  is  in 
spiration.  It  encourages  to  great  deeds,  and  de- 
velopes  the  noblest  faculties  of  our  nature.  Few 
men  have  flourished,  who,  were  they  to  be  candid, 
would  not  acknowledge  the  vast  advantage  they 
have  experienced  in  the  earlier  years  of  their  career, 
from  the  spirit  and  sympathy  of  woman. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  337 


JOSEPH  GALES. 

Thousands  who  have  for  years,  been  daily  readers 
of  the  Washington  city  "  National  Intelligencer," 
have  perhaps,  never  formed  a  correct  idea  of  the 
man  from  whose  pen  flow  the  statesman-like  articles 
which  fill  the  columns  of  that  paper.  From  a  poli 
tical  warfare  of  so  many  years,  contending  against 
powerful  partizan  opponents,  it  may  reasonably  be 
imagined,  that  Mr.  Gales  has  been  concentrated 
into  a  mere  mass  of  political  gunpowder,  and  that 
all  the  kindly  sympathies  of  our  nature  have  long 
been  evaporated.  Never  was  there  a  greater  mis 
take.  Instead  of  the  sour-looking,  razor-edge  phy 
siognomy  of  too  many  of  those  who  are  doomed  to 
"make  bread  from  brain,"  our  subject  is  the  very 
personification  of  good  nature.  He  is  just  such  a 
man  as  a  wounded  deer  would  run  to  for  succor, 
or  a  stranger,  robbed  of  his  pocket  book,  would  ask 
for  a  temporary  loan.  Short  in  stature,  corpulent, 
and  with  hair  whitened  by  the  snows  of  time,  he  is 
the  centre  of  a  circle  of  grateful  hearts  who  have 
never  appealed  to  his  purse  in  vain. 

Mr.  Gales,  as  has  been  set  forth  in  italics,  and 
large  and  small  capitals  hundreds  of  times,  by  the 
opposition  presses,  is  an  Englishman.  His  father, 
now  deceased,  once  conducted  a  highly  respectable 
paper  in  North  Carolina.  His  son  Joseph  was  a 
journeyman  printer,  and  previous  to  coming  to 
Washington,  it  is  said  he  worked  a  week  in  Phila 
delphia.  On  looking  over  his  work,  there  were  so 
many  errors,  that  he  made  a  present  of  the  compo 
sition  to  a  fellow  workman,  on  the  condition  that 
the  latter  would  correct  it.  He  then,  with  others, 
established  the  respectable  paper  which  he  still 
conducts.  Of  the  character  of  the  Intelligencer  it 
43 


338  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

is  unnecessary  to  speak.  Its  immense  circulation 
among  men  of  both  parties,  is  sufficient  evidence 
of  its  standing. 

Generous  to  a  fault,  the  munificence  of  Mr. 
Gales  has  frequently  involved  him  in  temporary 
pecuniary  difficulties.  Bat  even  at  such  times,  his 
benevolent  feelings  would  still  predominate.  We 
have  heard  -that  many  years  ago,  the  holder  of  an 
unpaid  promissory  note,  unacquainted  with  the  man, 
placed  it  in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff,  who  served  a 
writ  upon  Mr.  Gales.  The  latter,  accompanied  by 
the  officer,  went  to  a  friend  across  the  street,  and 
borrowed  the  money.  But  the  next  moment,  one 
of  his  old  workmen,  in  great  distress,  accosting  him, 
Mr.  Gales  immediately  handed  him  half  the  money 
he  had  just  borrowed,  and  told  the  sheriff  to  take 
the  remainder  and  "  call  again  tomorrow." 

It  is  said  that  many  of  his  superannuated  work 
men  have  for  a  long  period  been  supplied  by  him 
with  a  weekly  allowance.  He  has  a  fine  country 
residence  in  the  vicinity  of  Washington.  He  is 
married,  but  has,  we  believe,  no  children.  His 
partner,  W.  W.  Seaton,  Esq.,  has  for  many  years, 
been  mayor  of  the  city  of  Washington,  and  is  one 
of  the  regents  of  the  Smithsonian  institute. 

Verging  upon  three  score,  it  cannot  be  long  before 
Mr.  Gales  will  pay  the  debt  of  nature;  but  when 
that  event  shall  occur,  the  flowers  upon  his  grave 
will  be  watered  with  many  tears. 


MRS.    MADISON. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  339 


MRS.  MADISON. 

This  venerable  and  dignified  lady,  a  "  rose  bloom 
ing  in  Alpine  snows,"  now  nearly  eighty  years  of 
age,  still  resides  at  her  hospitable  mansion,  in 
Washington  city,  where  "lang  syne"  she  was  one 
of  the  most  polished,  elegant,  brilliant  and  beauti 
ful  ladies, that  ever  graced  the  social  circle.  Her 
manners  have  all  the  stateliness  of  "  olden  times," 
when  she  stood,  the  personification  of  grace,  in  the 
reception  room  of  the  presidential  mansion — yet 
they  sweetly  harmonize  with  the  changes  of  the 
present  day.  She  has  a  full  face,  bright  blue  eyes, 
beaming  with  benevolence,  and  a  somewhat  florid 
complexion.  Her  house,  says  a  gentleman  who 
recently  visited  it,  is  a  miniature  museum.  The 
greater  part  of  her  collection  is  still  'at  her  former 
residence,  in  Montpelier,  Va.  ;  but  what  has  been 
removed  here,  well  repays  the  visiter,  aside  from 
the  gratification  of  seeing  their  venerable  pos 
sessor. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  addition  to  that  of  the 
president,  the  mansions  of  Mrs.  Madison  and  Ex- 
President  Adams,  are  thrown  open  for  the  reception 
of  visiters,  on  New  Year's  day.  Two  winters  ago, 
on  one  of  these  occasions,  it  is  said  that  the  venera 
ble  ex-president,  on  the  expiration  of  the  usual 
visiting  hours,  walked  to  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Ma 
dison,  when  he,  there  and  then,  in  the  good  old  re 
publican  style  of  other  days,  not  only  wished  her  a 
"  happy  New  Year,"  but  proved  his  sincerity  by  im 
printing  a  kiss  upon  her  matronly  lips. 

It  was  a  beautiful  incident,  these  two  relics  of  an 
age  gone  by,  thus  meeting  each  other  in  the  twi 
light  of  existence. 


340  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


JAMES  KENT. 

It  has  been  truly  said,  that  with  energy,  perse 
verance,  and  a  well  balanced  mind,  man  may  ac 
complish  almost  every  thing  attainable  by  human 
effort.  What  is  it  but  well  directed  energy,  that 
lifts  man  above  man,  and  sets  in  motion  the  mighty 
and  varied  powers  that  heaven  has  granted  him — 
that  sets  him  beyond  the  reach  of  competition,  even 
upon  the  topmost  pinnacle  of  fame — a  bright  star 
whose  name  is  spelt  in  diamonds,  never  to  be  dim 
med,  and  never  to  be  forgotten  ? 

An  illustrious  exemplification  of  the  truth  of  this 
remark  is  furnished  by  the  life  of  the  late  Chancel 
lor  Kent,  who,  on  Sunday  evening,  December  13, 
1847,  at  his  residence  in  New  York  city,  left  a  world 
which  he  has  benefitted  and  adorned,  for  that  bless 
ed  immortality  which  is  the  Christian's  hope  while 
on  earth,  and  his  reward  through  eternity. 

James  Kent,  says  the  New  York  Tribune,  was 
born  on  the  31st  of  July,  1763,  in  Fredericksburg, 
then  part  of  Dutchess,  but  now  of  Putnam  county, 
New  York,  and  was  the  eldest  son  of  Moss  Kent,  a 
graduate  of  Yale  college,  Connecticut,  who  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Dutchess  county  in  1756. 
His  grandfather,  Rev.  Elisha  Kent,  a  native  of  Suf- 
field,  Connecticut,  was  for  thirty-six  years  minister 
of  the  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Kent's  parish  in 
Dutchess  county,  and  his  brother,  Moss,  sat  in  the 
senate  of  this  state,  and  in  congress,  and  was  for 
some  time  register  of  the  court  of  chancery. 

Mr.  Kent  was  sent  to  school  at  Norwalk,  when 
but  five  years  old,  and  was  placed  under  various 
instructors  until  he  entered  Yale  college  in  Septem 
ber,  1777,  more  than  seventy  years  since.  From 
the  precepts,  and  yet  more  the  example,  of  those 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  341 

pious  puritans,  among  whom  his  early  years  were 
passed,  he  acquired  that  simplicity  of  character  and 
purity  of  morals  which  he  preserved  through  life. 

In  July,  1779,  New  Haven  was  invaded  by  the 
British  forces,  the  college  broken  up,  and  the  stu 
dents  dispersed.  In  his  exile,  young  Kent  met  with 
Blackstone's  Commentaries,  read,  admired,  and,  at 
sixteen,  determined  to  be  a  lawyer.  He  finally  left 
college  with  high  reputation;  studied  law  with 
Egbert  Benson,  attorney-general  of  New  York ;  was 
studious,  temperate,  and  a  water-drinker,  indulging 
in  none  of  the  fashionable  pleasures  or  dissipation 
of  the  times.  An  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Nature's 
charms,  the  love  of  reading  was  his  ruling  passion. 
He  was  cheerful,  lively,  and  communicative  — 
young,  ardent,  active,  and  persevering — his  mind 
was  early  stored  with  useful  knowledge,  and  the 
morning  of  his  life  gave  promise  of  the  noonday 
brilliancy  of  his  remarkable  career. 

In  April,  1787,  he  was  admitted,  at  Albany,  a 
counsellor  of  the  supreme  court — in  1790,  and  again 
in  1792,  elected  to  the  legislature  by  the  people  of 
his  native  county.  From  the  purest  motives,  and 
believing  its  policy  the  best  for  his  country,  he  joined 
the  federal  party,  became  the  steadfast  friend  of 
Jay,  Hamilton,  and  others  of  its  leaders,  to  whose 
political  principles  and  usages  he  steadily  adhered, 
until,  in  1819,  it  ceased  to  exist. 

After  failing  to  be  elected  to  congress  by  a  few 
votes,  he  removed,  in  1793,  from  Poughkeepsie  to 
New  York,  was  appointed  professor  of  law  in  Colum 
bia  college,  and  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  the 
year  following.  In  1796,  he  was  appointed  a  mas 
ter  in  chancery — there  were  then  but  two  of  them, 
and  next  year  called  to  fill  the  office  of  recorder  of 
New  York.  In  1798,  he  ascended  the  supreme 
court  bench  as  one  of  the  judges,  and  removed  his 
residence  to  Albany,  where  he  commenced  the  prac 
tice  of  delivering  a  written,  argumentative  opinion, 


342  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

supported  by  legal  authorities,  in  every  case  of  suf 
ficient  importance  to  become  a  precedent  for  the 
future.  Thus  commenced  that  series  of  recorded 
judicial  decisions  which  have  enriched  the  jurispru 
dence  of  New  York,  and  proved  alike  useful  to  the 
legislator,  the  judge,  and  the  codifier. 

Judges  Kent  and  Radcliffe  revised  the  statutes 
of  our  state  in  1800.  In  July,  1804,  the  former  was 
appointed  chief  justice  of  the  state,  and  continued 
to  preside  in  the  supreme  court  until  his  appoint 
ment  as  chancellor,  in  February,  1814.  His  legal 
opinions,  delivered  while  in  the  supreme  court,  are 
contained  in  sixteen  volumes  of  well  known  and 
highly  appreciated  reports. 

As  chancellor,  which  high  office  he  filled  till 
1823,  he  is  understood  to  have  displayed  to  great 
advantage  these  excellent  business  habits,  and  that 
promptitude  which  marked  his  career  through  a 
long  and  invaluable  life.  A  few  favored  lawyers 
had,  before  his  time,  monopolized  chancery  busi 
ness — he  threw  its  doors  wide  open  to  the  profes 
sion — and  was  unwearied  in  his  efforts  to  despatch 
the  causes  brought  under  his  cognizance. 

By  the  constitution  of  1821,  the  judges  were  re 
movable  from  office  at  sixty  years  of  age ;  and,  on 
July  31,  1823,  he,  having  reached  that  period,  re 
tired,  after  hearing  and  carefully  deciding  every 
case  that  had  been  brought  before  him.  The  mem 
bers  of  the  bar  in  New  York  and  Albany  took  that 
occasion  to  bear  ample  testimony  to  his  worth  and 
usefulness,  and  to  acknowledge  the  benefits  which 
society  had  derived  from  his  learning,  wisdom  and 
assiduity.  In  1824,  he  became  a  second  time  law 
professor  in  Columbia  college,  and  in  1826  appeared 
the  first  volume  of  his  inestimable  Commentaries 
on  American  Law,  which  were  concluded  in  four 
volumes  in  1830,  and  have  been  extended  and  im 
proved  by  him,  with  great  care,  from  that  period 
to  this. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  343 

0 

He  was  elected  president  of  the  New  York  His 
torical  society  in  1828,  and  was  an  original  member 
of  the  Literary  association  of  Yale  college,  formed 
in  1780,  under  the  name  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
society.  In  1821,  he  represented  Albany  county  in 
the  state  constitutional  convention.  He  was  a  dis 
tinguished  ornament  of  that  learned  and  patriotic 
body,  and  steadily  adhered  to  the  opinion  that  with 
a  constituency  of  freeholders,  owners  and  cultivators 
of  the  soil,  the  unincumbered  possessors  of  happy 
homesteads,  the  liberties  of  the  country  would  be 
safest.  In  1785,  he  married  a  sister  of  Gen.  Theo 
doras  Bailey,  a  lady  now  nearly  eighty  years  old, 
and  who  survives  him,  after  enjoying  over  three 
score  years  of  uninterrupted  domestic  felicity.  His 
family  consisted  of  two  daughters  and  one  son,  the 
learned  and  well  known  Judge  Kent,  who  resigned 
the  office  of  circuit  judge  here  some  years  since, 
and  more  recently  gave  up  his  professorship  at 
Cambridge,  that  he  might  cheer  the  latter  days  of 
his  venerated  and  excellent  father  by  his  company 
and  personal  attentions. 

He  was  an  exemplary  Christian,  a  steadfast  and 
affectionate  father,  a  tender  husband,  an  ardent 
patriot,  and  a  true  lover  and  defender  of  his  coun 
try's  rights.  So  highly  are  his  works  esteemed 
abroad  that  the  lord  chief  justice  of  England,  Baron 
Denman,  wrote  to  Judge  Kent,  some  years  since, 
to  acknowledge  the  indebtedness  of  the  legal  pro 
fession  throughout  the  world  to  him  for  his  able 
commentaries. 


344  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


OTIS  ALLEN  BULLARD, 

Was  bom  at  Howard,  Steuben  county,  New 
York,  on  the  25th  of  February,  1816.  His  parents 
came  from  Massachusetts,  and  were  among  the  ear 
liest  settlers  of  Steuben  county.  His  father  was  a 
farmer  of  good  repute.  When  the  latter  died,  Otis 
was  but  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  was -apprenticed 
to  the  business  of  wagon  making  and  sign  painting, 
those  branches  being  frequently  united,  in  many  of 
our  villages.  His  love  of  the  fine  arts  was  first 
awakened,  by  the  arrival  of  a  portrait  painter  in  that 
place.  Eager  to  obtain  some  knowledge  of  the  art, 
Otis  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  raise  the  ways 
and  means,  and  applied  for  instruction;  but  the 
artist  refused  to  disclose  any  of  his  professional  se 
crets.  At  that  period  Otis  was  eighteen  years  of 
age,  and  the  productions  of  this  painter  were  the 
first  oil  paintings  he  had  ever  seen.  Ever  after 
wards,  his  mind  was  fixed  upon  painting,  and  al 
though  the  way  did  not  then  appear,  an  artist  he 
was  determined  to  become.  With  this  view  he  de 
sired  to  leave  his  trade,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
instruction  in  some  of  the  distant  cities;  but,  at  the 
earnest  entreaty  of  his  mother,  who  could  not  bear 
the  idea  of  parting  with  him,  he  consented  to  re 
main.  All  his  spending  money  was  laid  out  in 
books,  but  he  searched  in  vain  for  any  which  gave 
information  on  painting. 

At  this  juncture,  a  friend  of  his,  a  young  physi 
cian,  patiently  waiting,  like  many  others,  for  gray 
hairs,  to  entitle  him  to  confidence,  agreed  "  to  sit 
for  his  likeness."  Otis  was  in  his  glory,  as,  with  a 
painter's  pencil,  odds  and  ends  of  brushes,  and  the 
premises  all  to  himself  and  his  "  subject,"  he  com 
menced  his  first  portrait.  It  was,  we  presume,  with 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  345 

some  such  feeling  as  that  of  an  orator,  making  his 
debut, ;  or  of  a  general,  about  to  fight  his  first  bat 
tle.  The  portrait  was  declared  to  be  excellent, 
and  to  his  gratification  it  was  pronounced  greatly 
superior  to  those  painted  by  the  professional  artist. 
All  the  people  in  the  village  declared  it  was  like 
life  itself;  and  in  truth  there  was  no  fear  of  his 
falling  into  the  difficulty  of  a  certain  artist,  who, 
having  painted  a  horse,  thought  it  necessary,  for  the 
information  of  people  not  judges  of  the  fine  arts,  to 
inscribe  underneath  the  animal,  "  This  is  a  Horse." 

When  of  age,  Mr.  Bullard  visited  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut,  where  he  found  friends  who  gave 
him  the  requisite  instruction.  He  then  commenced 
business,  as  a  portrait  painter,  at  Hartford,  where 
he  met  with  good  success.  During  several  subse 
quent  years,  he  painted  portraits  in  Massachusetts, 
and  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  of  New  York. 

In  1841,  he  married  the  eldest  daughter  of  A.  A. 
Olmstead,  Esq.,  and,  since  the  winter  of  1843,  he 
has  made  New  York  city  his  permanent  place  of 
residence.  4 

Recently,  his  attention  has  been  principally  di 
rected  to  illustrations  of  the  manners  and  customs 
of  American  life,  and  to  historical  compositions. 
Among  his  latest  productions  are,  "  Judith  in  the 
tent  of  Holofernes,"  "  Horse  Trade,"  "  Sam  Slick," 
and  the  "Last  Blanket." 

He  is  at  present  engaged  upon  several  pieces  of 
stirring  incident  in  our  own  revolutionary  history. 

In  conclusion,  we  may  safely  say,  that  if  he  con 
tinue  his  hard  study  and  close  application,  there  is 
no  danger  that  the  American  school  of  painting  will 
lose  aught  at  his  hands. 


44 


346 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


THOMAS  RITCHIE. 

"  A  fine  Virginia  gentleman, 
All  of  the  olden  time." 

The  annexed  outline  sketch  of  Mr.  Ritchie,  al 
though  copied  from  a  portrait  taken  when  he  was  a 
younger  man,  will  yet  be  recognized  as  a  faithful 
delineation  of  his  amiable  physiognomy. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  refer  to  the  past  history 
of  this  veteran  editor,  who,  for  so  long  a  period, 
so  ably  conducted  the  Enquirer,  at  Richmond,  Vir 
ginia,  where,  surrounded  by  his  family,  perhaps  no 
man  was  ever  more  beloved  and  respected. 

Upon  the  retirement  of  Messrs.  Blair  &  Rives, 
from  the  Globe,  at  Washington,  Mr.  Ritchie,  with 
his  business  partner,  Major  Heiss,  purchased  the  es 
tablishment,  and  continued  the  paper,  under  the 
name  of  the  Union. 

As  generalissimo  of  the  democratic  party,  Mr. 
Ritchie  has  had  full  employment  for  his  energies, 
not  only  in  looking  after  the  enemy,  but  in  recon 
ciling  sectional  difficulties  among  his  own  forces. 
We  will  venture  to  say,  that  could  he  have  formed 
but  a  faint  idea  of  the  boisterous  nature  of  the  ele 
ments  over  which  he  was  called  to  preside,  he  would 
have  pondered  long  before  leaving  his  former  post. 
:c  Peace !  it  is  peace  that  the  pure  heart  ever  longs 
for;  and  in  many  spots  fancy  teaches  us  to  believe 
it  rests — the  village,  in  its  mantle  of  green  trees — 
the  cottage,  with  its  humble  thistle  and  curling 
smoke" — and  even  in  the  palace — but  it  seldom  ho 
vers  over  the  chair  of  a  political  editor ! 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  347 


M.  J.  DANFORTH. 

This  well  known  artist,  is  a  native  of  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  from  whence  he  removed  to  New  York 
city,  in  1824.  In  1826,  with  a  view  to  his  profes 
sional  improvement,  he  went  to  London,  where  he 
closely  pursued  his  studies  in  the  vari6us  galleries 
and  schools  of  art.  He  also  visited  the  continent, 
with  the  same  object  in  view,  devoting  a  portion  of 
his  time  to  engraving.  In  addition  to  numerous 
plates  of  a  private  character,  were  several  for  the 
English  annuals,  which  he  executed  in  a  style  that 
could  not  be  surpassed  by  any  artist  of  thit  coun 
try.  Perhaps  the  admiring  readers  little  thought 
that  the  artist  was  an  American,  or  they  would 
have  held  up  their  hands  in  astonishment,  exclaim 
ing,  "How  can  such  things  be?"  One  or  two 
others,  of  a  larger  size,  were  commenced,  but  were 
left  unfinished,  with  the  intention  of  returning  to 
England  to  complete  them;  among  them  was  a 
large  plate  from  a  picture  of  Leslie's,  in  the  posses 
sion  of  Lord  Essex. 

After  an  absence  of  eleven  years,  Mr.  Danforth, 
with  a  mind  laden  with  the  treasures  of  rich  expe 
rience,  returned  to  the  United  States. 

Since  that  time,  however,  owirig  to  a  profitable 
connection  with  an  establishment  for  bank  note  en 
graving,  Mr.  Danforth  has  been  unable  to  undertake 
any  new  work.  It  is  understood,  however,  that  it 
is  his  intention  shortly  to  enter  upon  a  more  con 
genial  employment — that  of  engraving  a  series  of 
American  subjects,  from  the  lamented  Washington 
Allston's  pictures  and  outline  compositions.  The 
latter,  for  several  years  before  his  death,  was  very 
solicitous  to  procure  the  services  of  our  artist,  and 
wrote  to  him  many  times  on  the  subject,  when  Mr. 


348  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

Danforth  was  in  Europe.  On  his  return,  the  request 
was  again  pressed,  which  resulted  in  an  agreement 
to  commence  the  work  as  soon  as  other  engage 
ments  would  permit.  But,  although  every  facility 
and  encouragement  was  offered,  ,by  a  number  of 
Boston  gentlemen,  who  subscribed  liberally  to  the 
amount  of  $10,000,  Mr.  Danforth  has  hitherto 
been  prevented  from  devoting  his  attention  to  it. 
It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  these  noble  produc 
tions  of  American  genius,  now  appreciated  in  the 
old  world,  even  more  highly  than  in  this  country, 
will  be  clothed  in  an  imperishable  form. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 

This  illustrious  man  affords  an  additional  instance 
of  the  success  of  well  directed  energy.  He  was 
bom  at  Albemarle,  Virginia,  on  the  2d  of  April, 
1745.  At  a  very  early  age,  he  was  left  entirely  to 
himself,  with  no  friend  or  relative  to  whom  he 
could  apply  for  advice  or  instruction.  Notwith 
standing  this  difficulty,  by  his  decision  and  energy 
of  character,  he  soon  secured  the  esteem  of  a  great 
portion  of  the  community  among  whom  he  resided. 
He  graduated  at  William  and  Mary's  college,  and 
then  studied  law.^  While  a  student,  he  listened  to 
the  debate  on  Patrick  Henry's  resolution  against  the 
stamp  act;  and  the  difficulties  with  the  mother 
country  having  already  begun,  he  was  henceforth  a 
patriot  and  a  politician. 

In  1801,  having  previously  held  high  offices  of 
trust  and  honor,  this  friendless  boy  was  elected 
President  of  the  United  States.  Having  served  two 
terms,  he  retired  to  private  life.  He  died  in  the 
84th  year  of  his  age,  July  4th,  1826,  just  fifty  years 
from  the  declaration  of  independence. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  349 


GEORGE  D.  BEERS. 

The  Chinese  tell  of  one  of  their  countrymen  who 
had  been  making  strenuous  efforts  to  acquire  litera 
ry  information,  but  who,  discouraged  by  difficulties, 
at  length  gave  up  his  books  in  despair.  As  he  re 
turned  to  manual  employment,  he  saw  a  woman 
rubbing  a  crowbar  on  a  stone.  On  asking  her  the 
reason,  she  replied  that  she  was  in  want  of  a  needle, 
and  thought  she  would  rub  down  the  crowbar  till 
she  had  got  it  small  enough.  The  patience  of  the 
aged  female  induced  him  to  make  another  attempt, 
and  he  succeeded  in  attaining  the  rank  of  one  of 
the  three  first  men  of  the  empire. 

Perhaps  no  man  has  exercised  more  patience  or 
overcome  greater  difficulties  in  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge  than  the  Hon.  George  D.  Beers,  a  son 
of  the  Hon.  Cyrus  Beers,  late  member  of  congress 
from  New  York.  He  was  born  at  Hobart,  Delaware 
county,  New  York,  in  the  year  1812,  and  shortly 
afterwards  removed  with  his  parents  to  Delhi,  in  the 
same  county.  Here,  owing  to  the  limited  means 
of  the  family,  George,  a~t  a  tender  age,  was  required 
to  perform  severe  labor.  When  he  was  nine  years 
of  age,  his  parents  removed  to  Walton,  a  distance 
of  about  eighteen  miles.  And  although  the  ground 
was  covered  with  snow,  and  the  weather  very  se 
vere,  George  had  to  walk  the  whole  distance,  driving 
a  cow  before  him.  The  nearest  school  being  at 
Delhi,  he  subsequently,  for  many  weeks,  walked 
that  distance  every  Monday  morning,  returning  on 
Saturday.  How  few  youths  of  the  present  day, 
place  a  proper  value  upon  the  facilities  for  educa 
tion. 

After  residing  in  other  portions  of  Delaware  coun 
ty,  Mr.  Beers  removed  with  his  parents  to  Ithaca, 


350  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

New  York.  He  then,  amidst  very  great  difficulties, 
studied  law,  and  in  his  twenty-first  year,  after  an 
honorable  examination,  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  the  supreme  court.  He  now  resolved  to  visit  the 
far  west,  with  the  idea  of  "growing  up"  with  the 
country,  but  while  in  Michigan,  he  was  attacked 
by  the  cholera,  and  for  a  long  time  his  life  was 
despaired  of.  He  at  length,  with  a  sad  heart,  and 
without  money  or  friends,  commenced  his  journey 
homewards.  The  hardships  he  underwent,  and  the 
sufferings  he  endured,  can  only  be  appreciated  by 
those  who  have  had  the  misfortune  to  be  placed  in 
similar  circumstances.  He  finally,  more  dead  than 
alive,  arrived  at  Ithaca,  where  he  slowly  recovered. 
He  then,  without  books  or  money,  being  at  least 
two  hundred  dollars  in  debt,  opened  a  law  office. 
Circumstances  more  discouraging  can  scarcely  be 
imagined.  But  his  motto  was  "patience  and  per 
severance,"  and  by  slow  degrees  he  rose  in  the  con 
fidence  of  the  people,  many  of  whom  were  astonish 
ed  at  the  sound  legal  knowledge  possessed  by  so 
young  a  man.  By  close  attention  to  business,  and 
an  unswerving  integrity,  the  sunshine  of  prosperity 
broke  out  upon  him,  and  in  a  few  years,  he  had 
entrusted  to  his  care,  many  of  the  most  important 
cases  ever  tried  in  the  state.  From  poverty,  he 
arose  to  the  enjoyment  of  wealth,  which  was  sweet 
ened  by  the  reflection  that  it  was  the  fruit  of  his 
own  labor.  When  he  commenced  practice,  one  of 
his  rules  was  "not  to  speak  fast,  and  never  to  lose 
his  temper/'  Would  that  all  other  professional 
gentlemen  would  follow  his  example. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  years,  so  popular  did  he 
become  in  the  community  among  whom  he  resided, 
that  the  man  who,  when  a  little  boy,  drove  a  cow 
through  the  snow  for  eighteen  miles,  was  elected 
to  the  New  York  state  senate.  Of  his  course  while 
in  that  body,  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak.  It  will 
be  sufficient  to  say,  that  he  acquitted  himself  to  the 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  351 

entire  satisfaction  of  the  respectable  portion  of  his 
constituency  and  to  the  people  at  large.  In  this 
life,  however,  sunshine  and  shade  continually  alter 
nate,  and  a  short  time  ago,  during  his  absence  from 
home,  he  suddenly  lost  two  interesting  children, 
making  the  third  death  in  his  family  within  a  very 
short  period. 

When  we  behold  the  little  one  suffer  for  a  short 
time,  and  then  die,  the  mourning  heart  is  some 
times  oppressed  by  the  thought  that  springs  up  from 
within:  Why  is  it  so — why  are  these  innocents 
thus  brought  into  being  to  suffer  awhile,  and  then 
fall  to  sleep  in  death?  That  such  a  circumstance 
can  be  reconciled  with  the  goodness  of  the  Creator, 
to  us  is  evident — his  care  is  over  them,  unseen,  but 
near,  and  well  he  knew  what  hour  was  best  to  call 
them  home.  Omniscience,  penetrating  the  dark 
future,  could  see  what  would  be  the  fate  of  the 
child  were  it  permitted  to  live — he  could  see  the 
circumstances  in  which  it  would  be  placed,  and  his 
purposes  did  not  ordain  that  it  should  perform  an 
active  part  in  the  economy  of  things;  he  therefore 
sent  his  angels  to  take  its  little  hands,  and  lead  it 
to  smile  on  death,  and  then  enter  amid  the  cherubic 
host  of  heaven. 

The  spirit  flies ;  and  lost  in  raptures  dreaming-, 
Through  the  blue  brightness  of  yon  starry  dome, 

Will  fancy  picture  holy  harp  strings  breathing 
The  songs  of  Zion  in  their  blessed  home. 

Mr.  Beers  has  for  many  years  been  an  active 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Ithaca. 


352  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


JOHN  CARLIN. 

This  artist,  a  deaf  mute  from  his  birth,  was  born 
at  Philadelphia,  June  15,  1813.  His  parents  were 
poor,  but  highly  respectable.  His  paternal  grand 
father,  a  British  artillery  officer,  was  captured  at 
Stony  Point  by  the  chivalric  Anthony  Wayne.  Af 
ter  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  being  disgusted  with 
British  injustice  and  cruelty,  Carlin  came  to  the 
very  reasonable  conclusion,  that  it  would  be  much 
pleasanter  to  be  his  own  captain.  He  accordingly 
deserted,  and  concealed  himself  in  the  woods  of 
Pennsylvania.  Here,  amidst  the  embowered  shades, 
he  fell  in  love  with,  and  finally  married  a  fair 
quakeress. 

And  oft  they  met 

When  winds  sighed  soft  around  the  mountain's  brow, 
And  summer  flowers  with  moonlight  dews  were  wet, 
To  breathe  in  some  green  walk  their  first  young  vow. 

In  July,  1820,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  ad 
mitted  to  the  Pennsylvania  institution  for  the  deaf 
and  dumb,  where  the  first  germs  of  knowledge  shot 
forth  in  his  darkened  mind. 

He  has  no  recollection  of  the  period  when  he  first 
manifested  a  taste  for  drawing,  but  sometime  prior 
to  his  entrance  into  the  school,  he  was  accustomed 
to  trace  with  chalk,  fantastical  figures  upon  the 
floor,  and  which  his  mother  would  quickly  deprive 
of  their  immortality  by  the  application  of  the  mop. 

On  leaving  the  institution  in  1826,  with  a  refined 
taste  and  an  ardent  love  of  the  arts,  owing  to  the 
limited  means  of  his  father,  our  artist,  to  his  great 
sorrow,  was  compelled  for  about  two  years,  to  toil 
for  a  scanty  livelihood  at  house  and  sign  painting. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen,  as  a  matter  of  pure  neces- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  353 

sity,  he  commenced  business  on  his  own  account, 
at  Philadelphia.  He  constantly,  however,  devoted 
his  spare  hours  to  the  study  of  the  principles  of 
drawing,  and  in  copying  on  canvas,  prints  engraved 
from  the  works  of  the  great  historical  painters. 

After  overcoming  many  difficulties,  Mr.  Carlin 
saved  money  enough  to  enable  him,  in  1838,  to  visit 
the  old  world,  where  he  longed  to  drink  in,  at  the 
fountain  head,  the  wondrous  beauties  of  the  old 
masters.  But  like  many  of  his  ardent  contempo 
raries,  to  his  great  regret,  he  found  that  his  funds 
were  not  sufficiently  ample  to  meet  unexpected  but 
indispensable  expenses,  in  so  large  a  field  of  study. 
After  spending  some  time  in  London,  he  proceeded 
to  Paris,  where  he  studied  under  the  celebrated 
Delaroche. 

While  in  France  Mr.  Carlin  had  the  good  fortune 
to  be  present  at  the  two  magnificent  funeral  pro 
cessions  of  the  martyrs  of  1S30  and  of  Napoleon. 
During  his  sojourn  too,  he  saw  numerous  instances 
of  the  difficulties  under  which  foreign  artists  labor, 
who  go  to  Paris  without  having  previously  studied 
the  French  language.  On  one  occasion,  in  order 
to  serve  a  young  fellow  countryman  laboring  under 
this  disadvantage,  Mr.  Carlin  acted  in  the  capacity 
of  translator  of  written  communications  between 
him  and  the  French  professor.  The  class  thought 
it  remarkably  singular  to  see  a  deaf  mute  translating 
for  a  speaking  person. 

A  worthy  friend,  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  Mr.  Carlin,  and  knowing  that  pecuniary  difficul 
ties  prevented  his  journey  to  Italy,  introduced  him 
to  a  rich  Virginia  gentleman.  The  latter  expressed 
a  desire  to  facilitate  the  accomplishment  of  the 
cherished  object,  and  bidding  our  artist  to  be  of 
good  cheer,  promised  to  furnish  him  with  a  thousand 
francs  per  year  for  three  years,  during  the  prosecu 
tion  of  his  studies  in  Italy.  He  also  requested  him 
to  get  ready  in  a  few  weeks.  This,  thought  our 
45 


354  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


artist,  was  good  fortune  indeed,  and  his  soul  glowed 
with  bright  anticipations.  He  immediately  com 
menced  the  study  of  the  Italian  language,  and  he 
was  congratulated  by  his  friends  upon  his  smiling 
prospects.  Meanwhile  the  Virginian  had  been 
obliged  to  go  to  England,  but  he  had  apprised  Mr. 
Carlin  that  he  would  shortly  receive  such  orders 
from  agents  in  Italy  as  would  enable  him  to  pro 
ceed  to  that  country.  Week  after  week,  however, 
passed  away,  and  no  order  came.  Hope,  with  her 
silver  tongue,  said  it  would  come  the  next  week, 
the  next  month,  but  it  came  not,  although  the  ex 
pectant  waited  with  an  aching  heart.  At  length, 
after  waiting  for  more  than  a  year,  his  spirits  sank 
within  him,  and  no  pen  can  describe  his  anguish 
of  soul.  In  his  case  was  a  powerful  exemplification 
of  the  fact,  that  "Hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart 
sick."  Under  these  circumstances,  painting  became 
an  object  of  aversion,  and  Mr.  Carlin  returned  with 
out  ambition,  to  the  United  States.  Here  he  re 
solved  to  abandon  his  profession,  but  ex-Governor 
Seward,  the  late  Col.  Stone,  and  other  sympathizing 
friends  dissuaded  him,  and  urged  him  still  to  paint. 
At  length,  after  experiencing  a  severe  struggle  with 
poverty,  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  would 
paint  miniatures  only,  and  that  for  a  livelihood. 
This  he  soon  found  much  more  profitable  than  either 
historical  or  portrait  painting,  and  in  New  York 
city,  where  he  is  permanently  settledf  he  is  now 
well  patronized  in  this  humble  but  beautiful  art. 

In  December,  1843,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Way- 
land,  a  former  pupil  of  the  New  York  institution  for 
the  deaf  and  dumb.  They  are  blessed  with  two 
sweet  children,  who,  contrary  to  what  might  have 
been  the  opinion  of  certain  thick  headed  philoso 
phers,  are  neither  deaf  nor  dumb. 

In  addition  to  his  artistical  merits,  Mr.  Carlin  is 
a  poet  of  no  mean  pretensions,  as  his  numerous 
published  pieces  well  prove 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  355 


ARPHAXAD  LOOMIS, 

Was  born  at  Winchester,  Connecticut,  on  the  9th 
of  April,  1798.     His  father  was  a  farmer,  in  very 
moderate  circumstances.     Arphaxad  was  the  fifth 
son,  and  from  the  time  his  father  removed  with  his 
family  to  Herkirner  county,   New  York,  until  his 
fourteenth  year,  he  was  accustomed  to  steady  ser 
vice  on  the  farm.     He  enjoyed,  however,  the  usual 
opportunities  afforded  to  boys  in  the  country,  of  at 
tending  the  common  school,  and  which  he  improv 
ed  to  good  advantage.     When  fourteen  years  of 
age,  his  father  hired  him  out  as  the  teacher  of  a 
common  school,  seven  or  eight  miles  from  home. 
He  was  then  quite  small  of  his  age.     His  agree 
ment  was  six  dollars  per   month,   and  to  "board 
round."     He  subsequently,  for  several  successive 
years,  taught  school  in  the  winters,  and  during  the 
summers  he   attended  the   academy  at    Fairfield, 
Herkirner  county,  paying  his  tuition  by  his  winter 
earnings.     According  to  the  common  practice  of 
that  institution,  he  lived  in  his  room,  at  the  acade 
my,  upon  his  own  food,  a  week's  supply  of  which 
he  was  accustomed  to  carry  from  his  father's  house, 
a  distance  of  four  miles,   every  Monday  morning. 
He  also  wore  the  home-made  garments  of  his  fa 
ther's  household.     It  was  understood,  however,  that 
he  was  not  to  be  a  burden  to  the  family,  even  to 
this  extent,  and  accordingly,  his  winter's  earnings 
were,  with  the  exception  of  "tuition,"  and   "book- 
money,"   regularly  paid  over  to  his  father,   as  an 
equivalent  for  his  supplies.     He  was  very  desirous 
of  going  through  a  collegiate  course,  but  his  re 
sources  would  not  permit  the  gratification  of  this 
ambition. 

In  1818,  he  entered  his  name  as  a  student  in  a 


356  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

law  office  at  Johnstown,  Montgomery  county.  At 
the  end  of  three  months,  however,  his  funds  be 
came  exhausted,  and  he  was  compelled  once  more 
to  commence  teaching.  Although  he  sometimes 
brooded  in  deep  despondency  over  his  want  of 
means  to  prosecute  his  legal  studies,  he  was  deter 
mined  not  to  "give  up."  Having  heard  that  a 
teacher  of  his  acquirements  might  probably  find 
good  employment  at  Watertown,  Jefferson  county, 
he  borrowed  ten  dollars  of  his  father,  and  on  the  20th 
of  December,  1818,  he  started  on  foot,  with  a  knap 
sack  on  his  back,  over  the  bleak  hills  and  frozen 
ground.  Owing  to  the  extreme  cold,  which  hap 
pened  to  set  in  about  that  time,  the  journey  proved 
a  very  severe  one,  and  to  that  he  attributes  his  im 
paired  hearing. 

At  Watertown,  he  obtained  employment  in  the 
district  school.  Here,  also,  he  entered  a  law  office, 
and  pursued  his  legal  studies.  At  the  end  of  three 
months,  he  obtained  sufficient  law  business  to  ena 
ble  him  forever  to  relinquish  the  school  room,  and 
to  continue  his  studies  without  further  interruption. 
He  completed  them  at  Sacketts  Harbor,  in  January, 
1825,  and  took  his  license  as  attorney  at  law.  He 
spent  the  two  succeeding  years  in  practising  in  the 
office  where  he  finished  his  course.  A  part  of  the 
1 1  third  year  was  spent  in  a  journey  through  the  south 
western  states,  with  a  vague  notion  that  he  would 
locate  himself  in  a  new  country,  and  "grow  up  with 
it."  He  visited  Gen.  Jackson,  and  saw  all  the 
lions  in  his  way.  He  found  the  country,  however, 
too  "  new"  for  his  taste,  and  returned  to  his  father's 
house,  exhausted  in  funds,  and  in  feeble  health. 
After  recruiting  himself  to  some  extent,  he  finally 
located  at  Little  Falls,  Herkimer  county,  his  present 
residence.  He  there  devoted  himself  to  the  prac 
tice  of  his  profession,  with  considerable  success. 

In  February,  1828,  he  was  appointed  surrogate  of 
Herkimer  county,  which  office  he  held  until  1837. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  357 

In  the  winter  of  1834,  his  name  was  sent  to  the 
senate,  by  Gov.  Marcy,  for  the  office  of  circuit 
judge;  but,  owing  to  an  apprehension  that  his  de 
fective  hearing-  would  interfere  with  the  proper  dis 
charge  of  the  duties,  the  nomination  was  subse 
quently  withdrawn.  On  that  occasion  he  received 
complimentary  letters  from  all  the  democratic  sena 
tors,  assuring  him  that  nothing  but  the  said  impe 
diment  had  induced  them  to  advise  the  substitution 
of  another  person. 

During  the  spring  of  the  same  year,  Gov.  Marcy 
appointed  him  on  the  commission,  with  Messrs. 
Elisha  Litchfield  and  Eli  Moore,  to  investigate  the 
subject  of  mechanical  labor  in  the  state  prisons; 
also,  the  prison  policy  and  discipline.  After  a  most 
laborious  investigation,  a  report  and  bill,  both 
drawn  up  by  Mr.  Loomis,  were  submitted  to  the 
legislature,  in  1835,  on  which  the  law  of  the  year 
was  based.  This  had  the  effect  of  subduing  the 
prevailing  excitement  for  several  years,  when  the 
continual  disregard  of  the  regulations,  by  the  exec 
utive  officers  of  the  prisons,  caused  the  mechanical 
interests  in  the  state  to  renew  the  complaint. 

In  the  fall  of  1836,  Mr.  Loomis  was  elected  a  re 
presentative  in  congress,  and  took  his  seat  at  the 
first  session  under  Mr.  Van  Buren's  administration. 
During  the  long  session  of  1837-8,  he  was  a  mem 
ber  of  the  committee  on  private  land  claims,  and 
his  labors  were  so  severe  as  to  seriously  impair  his 
health.  The  following  session  he  served  on  the 
committee  on  public  lands,  where  he  also  found 
that  there  was  work  to  do.  While  on  the  latter 
committee,  he  strenuously  exerted  himself  to  pre 
pare  the  way  for  the  sale  of  lands  to  actual  settlers 
only,  and  at  a  very  moderate  price,  believing  then, 
as  now,  that  all  other  sales  are  detrimental  to  the 
public  interest.  He  also  exerted  himself  in  favor 
of  postage  reform,  and  the  regulation  of  the  frank 
ing  privilege,  and  with  this  object  he  introduced 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

many  resolutions  of  inquiry  into  the  existing  abuses, 
and  which  had  the  effect  of  hastening  the  subse 
quent  action  of  congress  on  those  subjects. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1841,  Mr.  Loomis  took  his 
seat  in  the  New  York  legislature,  as  a  representa 
tive  of  Herkimer  county.  Here,  entertaining  strong 
convictions  of  the  great  evils  of  a  public  debt,  and 
thinking  that  he  perceived  a  strong  tendency  to 
create  debts,  and  in  many  cases  from  selfish  mo 
tives,  it  occurred  to  him  that  these  tendencies  might 
be  lessened,  if  not  entirely  obviated,  by  preventing 
any  public  debt,  unless  sanctioned  by  the  direct 
vote  of  the  people  themselves.  In  addition  to  giv 
ing  his  views  through  the  press,  on  the  14th  of 
January,  1841,  he  introduced  a  resolution  to  amend 
the  constitution,  so  as  to  restrain  the  legislature 
from  borrowing  money,  or  creating  any  public  debt, 
except  to  repel  invasion,  suppress  insurrection,  or  to 
defend  the  state  in  war,  unless  authorized  by  a  di 
rect  vote  of  the  electors,  at  a  general  election.  This 
proposition  was  approved  by  most  of  the  democratic 
papers  in  New  York,  and  other  states.  Many  of 
the  editors  kept  it  at  the  head  of  their  columns  for 
months.  Although  the  resolution  was  not  carried, 
yet  its  frequent  repetition  by  him,  during  succeed 
ing  sessions,  resulted,  in  the  convention  of  1846,  of 
which  Mr.  Loomis  was  an  active  member,  in  its 
adoption. 

Of  the  arduous  labors  of  Mr.  Loornis,  as  chair 
man  of  the  judiciary  committee,  in  the  legislature, 
and  of  his  eminent  services  as  a  member  of  the 
convention,  and  which  seriously  injured  his  health, 
our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to  speak.  It  will  be 
sufficient  to  say,  that  a  more  devoted  public  servant 
cannot  be  found. 

We  have  thus  seen  that  this  youth,  who,  in  a 
severe  winter,  and  with  a  sad  heart,  left  his  home, 
with  his  knapsack  on  his  shoulder,  to  seek  a  situa 
tion  as  a  teacher,  by  adhering  to  his  motto  of  "  ne- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  359 

ver  give  up,"  has  overcome  formidable  obstacles, 
become  an  eminent  lawyer,  and  filled  some  of  the 
most  honorable  offices  in  the  country,  with  credit 
to  himself,  and  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  con 
stituents. 


THURLOW  WEED. 

The  early  history  of  the  newspaper  press  in  Alba 
ny,  is  involved  in  obscurity.  From  a  paper  fur 
nished  (by  Joel  Munsell,  Esq.,  of  Albany)  to  the  com 
mittee  of  the  late  printers'  festival,  held  at  Roches 
ter,  it  appears  that  the  first  printing  presses  in  Al 
bany,  respecting  which  any  authentic  information 
can  now  be  gathered,  was  established  by  Alexander 
and  James  Robinson,  who  came  from  New  York  for 
that  purpose,  about  the  year  1770,  which,  until  then, 
was  the  only  place  in  the  colony  where  printing  had 
been  introduced.  Their  paper,  called  the  Albany 
Gazette,  was  continued  but  for  a  few  years,  as,  in 
1776,  the  publishers  joined  the  royalists  in  New 
York;  and  on  the  evacuation  of  that  city  by  the 
British,  they  took  refuge  in  Nova  Scotia,  at  Port 
Roseway,  where  Alexander  died  in  1784,  aged  42. 

In  May,  1782,  Messrs.  Solomon  Ballantine  and 
Charles  R.  Webster  published  the  first  number  of 
a  paper  called  the  New  York  Gazetteer,  or  Northern 
Intelligencer.  The  office  file  of  this  paper  was  de 
stroyed  by  the  great  fire  of  1793,  and  the  only  copies 
known  to  exist,  are  a  few  scattering  numbers,  pre 
served  by  the  Rev.  E.  Westerlo,  and  presented  by 
his  son,  Rensselaer  Westerlo,  Esq.  The  advertise 
ment  issued  by  the  publishers,  was  unique,  both  as 
a  specimen  of  literature  and  typography.  The  fol 


lowing  is  an  extract : 


360  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

"  To  the  Inhabitants  of  the  CITY  of  ALBANY,  and  the  ADJA 

CENT  COUNTRY  round  about. 

The  jjreat  usefulness  and  many  benefits  arising  from  a  weekly 
NEWSPAPER  are  so  obvious,,  and  universally  known,  that  they 
scarcely  need  to  be  mentioned. 

It  points  out  to  the  Poor  Man  where  to  go  and  lay  out  his  Pen 
ny  to  the  best  Advantage. 
"it  brings  Customers  to  the  Mechanic's  Shop. 
It  crowds  the  Merchant's  store  with  Chaps !"  &c.,  &c. 

In  1784,  the  paper  was  enlarged,  and  the  title 
changed  to  the  Albany  Gazette,  published  by  Mr. 
Webster  alone.  The  first  number  contains  an  ex 
tract  from  the  city  ordinances,  for  regulating  the 
ferry — the  first  item  of  which  is: 

"  FOR  TRANSPORTING  EVERY  PERSON  ACROSS,  EXCEPT  A 
SUCKING  CHILD,  2  COPPERS." 

And  further  on,  conspicuously  inserted,  is  the 
following  advertisement: 

"(I7"A    VERY    LIKELY    YOUNG    WENCH    FOR    SALE.       In- 

quire  of  Philip  Cuyler." 

The  first  regular  bookstore,  says  Mr.  Munsell,  of 
which  I  can  learn  any  thing,  was  that  of"  William 
Falconer  &  Co.,  No.  4  Court  street,  opposite  the 
Dutch  church;"  although,  at  the  same  time,  Mr. 
Webster,  the  printer,  was  dealing,  in  a  small  way, 
in  books  and  stationery,  as  were  also  the  principal 
merchants,  whose  stock  consisted  principally  of 
Bibles  and  school  books,  which  were  fantastically 
arranged,  in  their  advertisements,  with  "  Red  China 
Tea  Pots,  and  Tobacco  Boxes."  For  instance, 
Daniel  Hale  has  these  two  lines  in  juxtaposition  in 
his  advertisement: 

Blank  Books,  Psalms,  and  Spelling  Books, 
Pewter  Dishes,  Basons,  Plates  and  Mugs. 

In  1788,  Mr.  John  Barber  commenced  the  pub 
lication  of  the  Albany  Register,  as  a  republican 
paper,  Mr.  Webster  having  identified  himself  with 
the  federal  party.  Another  paper,  called  the  Fede 
ral  Herald,  was  also  published  during  the  year,  by 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  361 

Claxton  &  Babcock.  In  1796,  a  third  paper,  called 
the  Albany  Centinel,  was  published  by  Loring  An 
drews.  It  was  continued  ten  years,  when  it  passed 
into  other  hands,  and  was  called  the  Republican 
Crisis.  The  Crisis  was  afterwards  published  in 
1807,  by  Isaac  Mitchell,  and  in  1808,  by  Croswell 
&  Tracy.  In  1809,  the  Balance  took  its  place,  by 
Harry  Croswell,  at  the  end  of  which  year  it  was 
discontinued. 

In  the  spring  of  1809,  the  Gazette  began  to  report 
the  proceedings  of  the  legislature.  In  1812,  a  new 
democratic  paper  appeared,  in  opposition  to  the  Re 
gister,  called  the  Albany  Republican,  by  Samuel  R. 
Brown.  In  1313,  Mr.  Jesse  Buel  commenced  the 
publication  of  the  Albany  Argus,  semi-weekly,  at  $3 
a  year.  It  was  the  organ  of  the  Tompkins  division 
of  the  democratic  party.  At  the  end  of  the  half 
year,  the  subscription  was  4000,  being  a  thousand 
greater  than  that  of  any  other  paper  in  the  state. 
The  Argus  was  first  published  daily  in  1825,  by 
Croswell,  Barnum  &  Van  Benthuysen. 

The  first  daily  paper,  however,  was  the  Daily  Ad 
vertiser,  which  was  commenced  in  1815,  by  Theo 
dore  Dwight,  and  was  discontinued  in  1845. 

It  was  in  1828,  that  Thurlow  Weed,  Esq.,  com 
menced  the  Albany  Evening  Journal,  as  the  organ 
of  the  anti-masonic  party  in  the  state  of  New  York. 
He  is,  we  believe,  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York; 
and,  by  a  reference  to  the  biography  of  the  Hon. 
James  Harper,  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Weed  is  the 
architect  of  his  own  fortune,  he  having,  some  thir 
ty  years  ago,  been  a  fellow  journeyman  printer,  (in 
the  office  of  Jonathan  Seymour,)  with  the  great 
publisher,  in  New  York  city. 

In  April,  1818,  Mr.  Weed  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Catharine  Ostrander,  by  whom  he  has 
had  several  children. 

A  few  years  ago,  Mr.  Weed,  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health,  traveled  through  a  considerable  portion  of 
46 


362  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

Europe.     His  letters  from  abroad  were  replete  with 
interest,  and  contained  much  valuable  information. 

The  writer  never,  to  his  knowledge,  saw  Mr. 
Weed,  or  had  any  correspondence  with  him;  but 
he  can  with  confidence  assert,  that  as  a  citizen,  the 
conductor  of  the  Journal  is  highly  respected  by  the 
community  among  whom  he  dwells. 

Mr.  Weed  is  probably  fifty  years  of  age,  and  it  is 
really  wonderful  that  in  these  days  of  high-pressure 
party  excitement,  a  political  editor  should  so  long 
survive.  There  are  but  few  roses  mingled  with  the 
many  thorns  which  bestrew  his  path.  Like  a  man 
placed  in  the  pillory,  a  party  editor  is  made  the  butt 
of  all  sorts  of  people,  and  doomed  to  be  struck  by 
every  missile;  and,  aside  from  the  necessary  labor 
and  anxiety  which  must  ever  attend  so  responsible 
a  station,  he  is  ever  liable  to  have  his  conduct  mis 
represented,  and  his  motives  impugned,  without 
being  allowed  the  privilege  of  vindicating  his  own 
character.  If,  says  an  able  writer,  you  would  live 
in  quiet — if  you  would  die  in  peace,  at  a  good  old 
age,  smother  the  first  buddings  of  ambition,  and 
"shun  all  connection  with  the  political  press." 

The  editorial  career  of  Mr.  Weed  has  been  one 
of  almost  unparalleled  success,  in  the  annals  of 
newspaper  printing,  having  enriched  his  publishers, 
and  secured  to  himself,  by  the  office  of  state  printer, 
which  he  held  during  Gov.  Se ward's  administra 
tion,  a  comfortable  competence.  He  is  now  one 
of  the  proprietors,  as  well  as  editor,  of  the  Journal. 
Unlike  many  others  who  have  risen  from  obscurity 
to  honorable  positions,  Mr.  Weed  has  a  heart  capa 
ble  of  sympathizing  with  the  unfortunate,  and  may 
be  justly  called — "  The  poor  man's  friend." 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  363 


CYRUS  BEERS. 

There  are  few  more  remarkable  instances  of  the 
triumph  of  perseverance  over  difficulties,  than  that 
afforded  by  the  career  of  the  Hon.  Cyrus  Beers. 

He  was  born  at  Newtown,  Connecticut,  on  the 
21st  of  June,  1786,  and  is  the  son  of  Hannah  and 
David  Beers.  Owing  to  the  poverty  of  the  family, 
Cyrus  never  received  any  school  education,  except 
at  short  intervals,  in  the  winters,  previous  to  his 
tenth  year.  In  addition  to  this,  his  father  was  one 
of  that  numerous  class  who  exercise  no  government 
over  their  children,  so  that  his  son  was  left  entirely 
to  himself,  which  proved  a  great  disadvantage  to 
him  in  after  life.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five,  Mr. 
Beers  married  Miss  Phebe  Gregory,  a  sister  of  Rice 
Gregory,  M.  D.,  of  Hobart,  Delaware  county.  He 
had  previously  opened  a  store  at  the  latter  place,  in 
which  he  had  invested  the  avails  of  the  hard  earn 
ings  of  many  years  of  patient  industry,  amounting, 
probably,  to  $4000.  In  a  few  months  after  his 
marriage,  however,  he  lost  the  whole  of  his  proper 
ty  by  fire,  and,  with  the  best  years  of  his  life  gone 
by,  had  to  commence  the  world  anew.  It  was  a 
sad  trial,  and  one  which  would  have  prostrated  the 
energy  of  many.  But  he  was  not  the  man  to  "give 
up  the  ship ;"  so  in  good  earnest  he  set  to  work, 
and  in  about  five  years  he  had  realized  nearly  the 
full  amount  of  his  loss.  But  his  troubles  were  not 
over.  Being  tempted  into  a  lumber  speculation, 
which  he  prosecuted  for  a  considerable  period,  he,  by 
a  course  of  events  which  no  human  foresight  could  | 
have  guarded  against,  not  only  lost  his  own,  but 
several  thousands  more,  which  he  had  procured  on 
credit,  together  with  ten  years  of  incessant  labor 


364  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

and  anxiety.  In  addition  to  this,  the  busy  tongue 
of  slander  was  at  work,  and  he  had  to  endure  the 
scoffs  and  sneers  of  those  who  had  escaped  similar 
misfortune.  Thus  it  is,  instead  of  "  mourning  with 
those  that  mourn,"  and  whispering  the  blessed 
words  of  sympathy  to  the  troubled  and  cast  down, 
man  is  ever  ready  to  insult  the  unfortunate.  But, 

Hope  reigns  eternal  in  the  human  breast ; 

and  yet  a  third  time  did  Mr.  Beers  brace  himself 
up  against  the  storm.  He  obtained  a  situation  as 
clerk,  at  a  dollar  a  day,  out  of  which,  for  some 
years,  he  managed  to  support  his  family  and  edu 
cate  his  children.  The  assertion  of  holy  writ,  that 
"  diligence  rnaketh  rich,"  he  found  true  as  ever, 
and  by  degrees  the  sunshine  burst  from  behind  the 
dark  clouds,  and  Mr.  Beers  became  one  of  the 
wealthiest  men  in  Ithaca,  New  York,  where  he  has 
for  many  years  resided. 

In  November,  1838,  Mr.  Beers  was  elected  a  re 
presentative  in  congress.  While  in  that  body,  he 
was  truly  a  working,  instead  of  a  talking,  member. 
When  he  took  his  seat,  he  saw  that  there  was  a 
great  want  of  "  good  listeners''  and  while  others 
were  quibbling  about  trifles,  and  talking  by  the 
hour,  upon  abstract  questions,  he  joined  himself  to 
the  "bees,"  and  rendered  essential  service  to  the 
country,  by  bringing  the  fruits  of  his  valuable  ex 
perience  to  bear  upon  questions  of  vital  importance 
to  the  working  classes.  His  impaired  health,  how 
ever,  induced  him  to  decline  a  renomination.  He 
is,  we  believe,  an  extensive  land  holder,  and  his 
time,  of  late  years,  has  been  entirely  devoted  to  the 
management  of  his  estates.  His  plans  are  all  laid 
with  skill,  and  pursued  with  energy,  and  he  has 
ever  displayed  the  most  unwearied  perseverance 
in  pursuit  of  laudable  objects,  under  difficulties 
which  would  have  borne  down  many  other  men 
How  true  it  is,  that  talent,  when  thus  allied  with 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  365 

patient  energy  and   persevering  industry,  will  not 
fail  to  insure  ultimate  success  to  its  possessor. 

Mr.  Beers  has  two  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom  was 
very  recently  a  member  of  the  New  York  state 
senate — the  other  has  obtained  considerable  cele 
brity  as  a  financier. 


SOLOMON   SOTJTHWICK. 

Left,  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  a  destitute  or 
phan,  without  friends  or  resources  of  any  kind,  other 
than  such  as  nature  had  bestowed  upon  him,  in  the 
inappreciable  blessing  of  a  sound  and  vigorous  con 
stitution,  he  commenced  the  work  of  self-education 
in  the  stern  school  of  adversity,  and  progressed, 
step  by  step,  with  an  unfaltering  determination, 
and  an  unyielding  energy,  until  he  found  himself 
in  the  higher  walks  of  honorable  usefulness. 

Solomon  Southwick  was  born  at  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  on  the  25th  of  September,  1773.  His  father 
was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  efficient  cham 
pions  in  that  gallant  struggle  for  the  rights  of  the 
colonists,  which  eventuated  in  the  war  of  the  revo 
lution.  His  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  com 
menced  his  career  while  yet  a  mere  boy,  as  cook 
for  a  fishing  company  bound  for  Cape  Cod.  After 
enduring,  for  several  months,  the  hardships  and  pri 
vations  incident  to  such  a  station,  he  returned  to 
Newport,  and  apprenticed  himself  to  a  baker,  in  his 
native  town.  He  afterwards  went  as  a  common 
sailor,  on  board  a  coasting  vessel,  when  he  appren 
ticed  himself  in  a  printing  establishment  in  the 
city  of  New  York.  From  thence  he  was  transferred, 
as  a  journeyman  in  the  office  of  the  Albany  Regis- 


366  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

ter,  then  conducted  by  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Bar 
ber.  On  the  death  of  the  latter,  in  1808,  Mr.  South- 
wick  succeeded  to  his  interest  in  the  paper.  He 
continued  in  charge  of  the  Register  for  nearly  thirty 
years,  during  which  period  he  held  many  honora 
ble  offices  in  the  state.  He  subsequently  took 
charge  of  the  National  Democrat.  During  the  pre 
valence  of  the  anti-masonic  excitement,  he  estab 
lished  and  conducted  the  National  Observer,  the 
prominent  organ  of  anti-masonry.  He  was  soon 
afterwards  nominated  as  the  candidate  of  that 
party,  for  the  chief  magistracy.  Failing  of  success, 
however,  and  disgusted  with  the  vexations  of  po 
litical  strife,  he  withdrew  from  public  life,  and  wise 
ly  sought  happiness  in  the  domestic  and  social  cir 
cle.  The  remainder  of  his  life  was  devoted  to 
study  and  contemplation,  to  the  welcome  enjoy 
ments  of  the  family  fireside,  and  to  the  dissemina 
tion  of  moral,  religious,  and  intellectual  truth. 

Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness,  and  in 
the  full  maturity  of  his  intellectual  powers,  he  was 
arrested  by  the  hand  of  death,  on  the  18th  of  No 
vember,  1839.  He  was  attacked  by  an  affection  of 
the  heart,  which,  in  about  fifteen  minutes,  termin 
ated  fatally. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  367 


CALEB  S.  WOODHULL, 

Is  a  resident  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  a  dis 
tinguished  member  of  the  bar  of  that  city.  He  was 
bom  on  the  26th  of  February,  1793,  at  Miller's 
Place,  a  beautiful  village  in  the  town  of  Brookha- 
vjpu,  Long  Island.  Of  the  family  from  which  he  is 
descended,  a  passing  notice  will  here  be  given. 

It  being  one  of  the  purposes  of  this  work  to  re 
cord  and  illustrate  such  ancestral  reminiscences  of 
the  biographical  subject,  as  will  be  gratifying  to  the 
descendants,  and  interesting  to  general  readers — it 
will  not,  therefore,  be  out  of  place,  if  a  few  pages  be 
devofed  to  a  narrative  sketch  of  Mr.  WoodhulPs  an 
cestors,  who  have  attained  a  high  social  position — 
and  some  of  them  distinguished  historic  mention — 
in  the  annals  both  of  this  country  and  Great  Brit 
ain;  and  of  whom  a  geneological  record  has  been 
preserved,  registering  their  line  of  descent  from  the 
time  of  William  the  Conqueror.  In  this  country — 
where  no  law  perpetuates  titled  or  ancestral  dis 
tinctions  to  a  privileged  few,  where  there  is  no  rio- 
bility,  except  for  those  who  win  and  maintain  it  by 
their  own  efforts ;  where  no  honors  are  hereditary, 
but  belong  only  to  those  who  are  successful  in  the 
free  strife  to  attain  them — it  will  not  be  supposed 
that  any  one  would  claim  consideration  for  himself, 
in  consequence  of  the  merits  of  those  who  have  pre 
ceded  him.  Here,  where  the  accident  of  birth  does 
not  confer  office  or  power,  he  who  may  have  passed 
through  life  with  honors  from  his  fellow  men,  must 
have  risen  to  his  position  by  virtue  of  his  own  me 
rits  and  talent.  Whether  born  of  obscure  or  emi 
nent  parents,  every  person  must  be  the  architect  of 
his  own  fortune.  An  humble  origin  is  no  bar  to 
one's  elevation  in  life — neither  does  distinguished 


368  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

birth  secure  to  one  either  wealth,  honor,  or  respect. 
In  giving,  then,  an  account  of  the  ancestors  of  the 
subject  of  this  memoir,  no  other  object  is  held  in 
view  than  that  of  illustrating  the  deeds  of  one 
who  was  a  prominent  actor  in  the  early  scenes  of 
the  American  revolution — of  rescuing  from  oblivion 
some  of  the  untold  events  of  our  history,  and  of 
placing  on  the  convenient  and  permanent  record  of 
print,  a  family  chronicle ;  which,  whatever  of  inte 
rest  it  may  possess  for  the  general  reader,  will  also 
be  of  inestimable  value  to  the  very  numerous  and 
highly  respectable  living  connexions  and  descend 
ants,  of  the  ancestry  thus  preservingly  chronicled. 

From  a  register  of  the  family,  it  appears  that  the 
original  progenitor  of  the  Wooclhulls  was  Walteras 
Flanderemis,  who  accompanied  William  the  Con 
queror,  in  his  invasion  of  England,  in  the*year 
1066.  It  is  probable,  as  his  name  would  seem  to 
indicate,  that  he  was  a  Flemish  soldier,  and  also 
that  he  was  a  person  of  some  consideration,  for  his 
son  Walter  was  made  baron  of  Wahull.  The  es 
tates  and  title  of  the  barony  regularly  descended 
from  father  to  son,  until  John,  in  the  sixth  genera 
tion,  dying  without  issue,  was  succeeded  by  his 
sisters — first  Rosea,  and  then  Agnes — the  latter  of 
whom,  having  been  married  to  Robert  Bassingham, 
left  her  son  John  as  heir,  who  became  baron  of 
Wahull.  In  the  seventeenth  generation,  the  inhe 
ritance  fell  in  a  collateral  branch  of  the  family, 
whose  name  was  Nicholas  Wodhull,  and  who 
changed  the  title  to  that  of  the  baron  of  Wodhull. 
Thenceforward  the  succession  continued  in  the  line 
of  the  Wodhulls. 

The  first  American  ancestor,  of  the  family  in  this 
country,  was  Richard  Wodhull,  a  great-grandson 
of  Nicholas,  the  twenty-second  baron  of  Wodhul], 
who  lived  at  about  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  cen 
tury.  Richard  Wodhull  was  born  at  Therford, 
Northamptonshire,  Sept.  13,  1620.  His  zeal  in  the 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  369 

cause  of  English  liberty  induced   him  to  join  the 
party  of  Cromwell,  whose  probable  downfall,  or  at 
least  uncertain  fate,  may  have  had  an  influence  in 
causing  him  to   leave   his  country,  and  to  seek  the 
security  and   freedom   of  an  abode  in   the  western 
world.     The  precise  time  of  Mr.  Wodhull's  arrival 
in  this  country  is  not  known;  but,  in  1655,  or  1656, 
he  appears  as  one  of  the  original  purchasers  and 
settlers  of  the  plantation  of  Setauket,  on  Long  Island. 
This  plantation,  which  extended  across  the   island, 
was,  on  the  possession  of  New  York,  by  the  English, 
in  1664,  called  Brookhaven,  while  the  name  of  Se 
tauket  was  confined  to  the  village  of  the  first  settle 
ment.     It  is  supposed  that  he  arrived  in  this  coun 
try  in  1648,  and  his  name  was  associated  with  the 
settlers  of  Jamaica.     In  1659,  Setauket  sought  the 
protection  of  the  general  court  of  Hartford,  which 
appointed  Mr.  Wodhull  the  first  of  two  magistrates 
over  the  plantation.     His  skill  in  the  art  of  survey 
ing,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  law,  and 
legal  forms  of  business,  rendered  his  services  par 
ticularly  valuable  to  the  colonists,  and  his  name  is 
found  associated  with  all  the  more  important  trans 
actions  of  the  town.     He  was  entrusted  to  purchase 
the  southern  part  of  the  town,  on  behalf  of  the  peo 
ple.     A  letter  is  now  in  possession  of  his  descend 
ants,  written  to  him,  in  1687,  by  his  kinsman,  Lord 
Crew,  bishop  of  Durham,  who  gives  some  account 
of  the  relatives  he  had   left  behind   him.     He  died 
in  1721,  aged  eighty-eight.     His  name  was  Nicho 
las  Wodhull.     Lord  Crew  also  presented  to  him  the  ' 
crest  and  arms  of  the  family,  whose  heraldic  signs 
are  emblematic  of  a  long  catalogue  of  chivalric  vir 
tues.     Michael  Wodhull,  an  ingenious  writer,  and 
the  translator  of  Euripides,  was  educated  at  Brazen 
Noze  college,  and  died  at  Therford,  his  native  place, 
in  1816,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six. 

Mr.  Wodhull  died  at  Setauket,  in  1690,  leaving 
his  eldest  son  Richard  heir,  who  was  also  a  magis- 
47 


370  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

trate.  His  other  son,  Nathaniel,  who  died  without 
issue,  and  his  daughter  Deborah  was  married  to 
Capt.  John  Lawrence,  of  Newtown. 

The  second  Richard  was  married  to  Temperance, 
daughter  of  Rev.  Jonah  Fordham,  of  Southampton. 
During  his  life  time  the  orthography  of  the  name 
was  changed  to  that  of  Wood  hull.  He  died  in  1699, 
leaving  his  children,  Richard,  Nathaniel,  John,  Jo- 
siah,  Dorothy  and  Temperance.  John  settled  at 
Wading  river,  and  had  issue — John,  whose  children 
were,  James,  Josiah,  John  and  William;  the  latter 
of  whom  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Phillips 
Roe. 

The  third  Richard  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
John  Hornan,  of  the  same  town,  and  died  in  1767, 
leaving  Richard,  Mary,  John,  Nathan,  Stephen, 
Henry,  and  Phoebe.  Mary  was  married  to  Jona 
than  Thompson,  and  Benjamin  F.  Thompson,  au 
thor  of  the  History  of  Long  Island,  is  their  grand 
son.*  Nathan  married  Joanna  Mills,  and  died  a 
merchant,  at  Setauket,  in  1804,  leaving  Nathan,  Na 
thaniel,  David,  Sarah,  and  Phoebe.  Nathan  gradu 
ated  at  Yale  college,  in  1775,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three.  He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Stephen 
J  agger,  of  Westhampton,  and  settled  as  a  farmer  at 
Southold.  Subsequently  he  studied  theology,  and 
was  ordained  in  that  parish,  in  April,  1785,  but  re 
moved,  in  1789,  to  Newtown,  where  he  died,  pastor 
of  that  church,  in  March,  1810.  Nathaniel  married 
Rebecca,  daughter  of  Joseph  Brewster,  and  their 
children  were,  Nathan,  Samuel,  Richard,  Rebecca, 
and  Hannah.  David  married  Irena,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Noah  Wetmore,  and  died  at  Newtown.  Sarah 
was  married  to  Selah  Strong,  a  merchant,  of  New 
York,  and  their  children  were,  Benjamin,  James, 

*  To  the  very  excellent  work  of  Mr.  Thompson,  which  is  an 
invaluable  contribution  to  the  history  of  New  York,  and  of  our 
country,  we  are  indebted  for  the  princioal  materials  of  the  sketch 
of  Mr.  WoodhulPs  ancestors. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  371 

Henry,  Julia,  Anne,  and  Charlotte.  Phoebe  was 
married  to  Jacob  Van  Brunt,  and  their  children 
were,  John  and  Sarah.  Stephen,  fourth  son  of  the 
third  Richard,  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Abra 
ham  Cooper,  of  Southampton,  and  their  children 
were,  John,  Cooper,  Hannah,  and  Sarah.  Of  these, 
John  married  Catharine  Smith;  Hannah  was  mar 
ried  to  Ebenezer  Smith;  and  Cooper  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Gilbert  Smith. 

The  fourth  Richard  married  Margaret,  daughter 
of  Ed  mind  Smith,  of  Smithtown,  and  was  a  very 
useful  man,  having,  as  had  also  his  ancestors,  filled 
during  the  greater  portion  of  his  life,  the  office  of 
magistrate.  He  died  in  1788,  leaving  Susanna, 
Richard,  Mary,  Adam,  and  Abraham.  Mary  was 
married  to  Amos  Underbill,  and  their  daughter  Mar 
garet  to  Oliver  Coles.  To  Abraham  was  devised 
most  of  his  father's  estate  at  Setauket.  He  was  for 
many  years  a  magistrate,  and  from  1799  to  1810, 
first  judge  of  the  county.  During  the  revolution,  a 
secret  correspondence  was  for  a  long  period  carried 
on  between  him  and  Major  Tallmadge,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  affording  important  aid  and  information  to 
Gen.  Washington.  He  was  married  first  to  Mary, 
daughter  of  Obadiah  Smith,  of  Smithtown;  and  se 
cond,  to  Lydia  Terry.  He  died  in  1826,  leaving 
Elizabeth,  Mary,  and  Jesse ;  the  latter  of  whom 
died  in  1840,  leaving  the  original  ancestral  es 
tate  at  Setauket,  to  his  son,  who  is  still  the  occu 
pant. 

The  fifth  Richard  married  Sarah  Miller,  of  Miller's 
Place,  and  died  in  1774,  leaving  Richard,  Sarah, 
Dorothy  and  Julia. 

The  sixth  Richard  M.  Woodhull,  was  a  merchant 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  died.  His  only 
son,  Maxwell  Woodhull,  is  a  lieutenant  in  the 
navy. 

General  Nathaniel,  a  distinguished  actor  in  the 
scenes  of  the  revolution,  was  a  great-grandson 


372  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

of  the  first  American  ancestor.  His  father,  Na 
thaniel,  was  the  second  son  of  the  second  Richard, 
and  he  settled  upon  lands  devised  to  him  at  Mastic, 
in  the  south  shire  of  Brookhaven.  He  married  Sa 
rah,  daughter  of  the  second  Richard  Smith,  of 
Smithtown,  and  died  in  1760,  leaving  Hannah, 
Temperance,  Nathaniel,  Dorothy,  Sarah,  Richard, 
Ruth,  Jesse,  Juliana,  Deborah,  and  Ebenezer.  Of 
these,  Jesse  and  Ebenezer  settled  in  Orange  county, 
New  York,  where  they  left  families  of  children. 
Richard,  born  in  1729,  graduated  at  Yale  college,  in 
1752,  and  was  for  several  years  tutor  in  that  insti 
tution.  He  had  a  high  reputation  for  his  attain 
ments  in  classical  learning,  and  was  particularly 
distinguished  in  the  department  of  mathematics. 
His  adoption  of  the  theological  opinions  of  the  Rev. 
Robert  Sandeman,  led  to  his  separation  from  the 
college.  He  married  first,  Elizabeth  Mix;  and  se 
cond,  Rebecca  Carr,  of  Boston.  His  only  daughter 
was  married  to  Jehu  Brainard,  Esq.,  of  New  Haven. 
He  died  in  1797. 

General  Nathaniel  Woodhull  was  born  at  Mastic 
on  the  30th  of  December,  1722.  His  early  life  was 
passed  with  his  father,  in  the  cultivation  of  the  farm, 
which  he  afterwards  inherited,  and  his  education 
was  adapted  to  fit  him  for  the  active  duties  of  life. 
He  was  married,  in  17(51,  to  Ruth,  daughter  of  Ni- 
coll  Floyd,  and  sister  of  Gen.  William  Floyd. 

During  the  French  war,  as  it  is  termed,  he  enter 
ed  the  army,  and,  having  received  the  commission 
of  major,  in  the  provincial  forces  of  New  York,  he 
was  engaged  under  Gen.  Abercrombie,  in  his  dar 
ing  assault  on  Ticonderoga,  in  the  year  1758.  On 
the  27th  of  August,  a  combined  attack  on  the  fort 
was  made  both  by  land  and  water,  and  an  import 
ant  command  of  the  forces,  in  boats,  was  committed 
to  Major  Woodhull,  with  orders  to  receive  the  fire 
of  the  fort  without  returning  it,  until  he  should  have 
approached  to  within  close  quarters.  This  order 


I 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  373 

was  executed  with  bravery  and  skill,  and  contribut 
ed  materially  to  a  reduction  of  the  fort,  which  soon 
surrendered  with  its  large  armament  and  stores,  and 
nine  armed  vessels  of  war.  The  following-  year  he 
was  actively  engaged  in  the  campaign,  and  in  1760 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel,  commanding 
the  third  regiment  of  New  York  provincials.  In 
the  same  year  he  marched  under  General  Amherst 
against  Montreal;  and,  on  the  final  reduction  of 
Canada,  and  the  capitulation  of  the  French  general 
on  the  8th  of  September,  he  returned  with  his  troops 
to  New  York,  and  retired  to  private  life,  on  his  farm 
at  Mastic. 

Col.  Woodhull  was  not  suffered  to  remain  long 
in  the  quiet  shades  of  his  retirement.  He  was  soon 
called  forth  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  eventful 
scenes  of  the  contest  now  begun  between  the  colo 
nies  and  Great  Britain.  In  December,  1768,  the 
assembly  of  New  York  passed  an  unanimous  re 
solution,  that  no  tax  could  or  ought  to  be  imposed  on 
the  colonists,  except  by  their  own  consent;  that  the 
privileges  of  the  legislature  could  not  be  annulled, 
abridged,  or  suspended,  and  that  they  had  a  right  to 
consult  with  the  other  colonies,  in  defence  of  their 
own  liberties.  In  consequence  of  this  bold  posi 
tion,  the  governor,  Sir  Henry  Moore,  dissolved  the 
assembly,  on  the  2d  of  January,  1769.  This  arbi 
trary  act  aroused  the  spirit  of  the  people,  and  an 
election  for  new  members  took  place  in  the  spring 
of  that  year,  at  which  Col.  Woodhull  and  William 
Nicoll  were  returned  from  the  county  of  Suffolk. 
For  the  following  six  years,  during  which  the  colo 
nists  acknowledged  the  royal  authority,  Col.  Wood- 
hull  remained  a  member  of  that  body,  and  was  con 
stant  in  his  devotion  to  the  rights  of  the  people,  and 
his  opposition  to  the  encroachments  of  British 
usurpation. 

Col.  Woodhull  was  next  elected  a  member  of  the 
convention  which  met  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on 


374  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

the  10th  of  April,  1775-6,  to  choose  delegates  to  the 
continental  congress. 

On  the  22d  of  May,  in  the  same  year,  the  first 
provincial  congress  of  New  York  assembled  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  and,  from  the  time  of  its  organ 
ization,  practically  asserted  and  maintained  its 
right  to  the  entire  sovereignty,  and  in  effect  sus 
pended  the  royal  authority.  Col.  Woodhull  was  a 
member  of  this  body,  and  was  at  the  head  of  the  Suf 
folk  delegation.  On  the  22d  of  August,  the  militia 
of  the  colony  having  been  Organized  by  the  congress 
into  brigades,  each  of  which  to  be  commanded  by 
a  brigadier-general  and  a  major  of  brigade,  Col. 
Woodhull  was  appointed  brigadier-general  of  the 
brigade  composed  of  the  militia  of  Suffolk  and 
Queens  county.  On  the  28th  of  the  same  month, 
he  was  elected  president  of  the  congress.  This  body 
not  deeming  itself  clothed  with  power  to  erect  a 
new  form  of  government,  entirely  independent  of 
all  foreign  control,  in  accordance  with  the  request 
of  the  continental  congress,  on  the  31st  of  May, 
1776,  called  on  the  electors  to  choose  a  new  con 
gress,  or  give  to  the  present  one  enlarged  powers. 
The  new  powers  were  given,  and  the  second  pro 
vincial  congress  assembled  at  White  Plains,  on  the 
9th  of  July,  when  Gen.  Woodhull  was  again  chosen 
president.  In  the  continental  congress,  the  New 
York  delegation,  fettered  by  instructions  given 
twelve  months  previously,  when  a  hope  of  recon 
ciliation  was  yet  cherished,  had  been  unable  to 
vote  for  the  declaration  of  independence.  Accord 
ingly,  the  first  act  of  the  provincial  congress  was  an 
unanimous  adoption  of  the  declaration  on  behalf 
of  the  people  of  New  York.  On  the  next  day  the 
congress  assumed  the  title  of  "  The  Representatives 
of  the  State  of  New  York."  The  convention  was 
soon  after  transferred  to  Harlem,  and  on  the  10th 
of  August,  General  Woodhull  obtained  temporary 
leave  of  absence,  in  order  to  attend  to  some  affair? 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  375 

at  home.     Abraham  Yates  was  made  president  pro 
tempore,  during  the  absence  of  Mr.  Woodhull. 

Gen.  Howe  having  landed  on  Long  Island,  on  the 
22d  of  August,  and  two  regiments  of  the  Long  Island 
militia,  under  Cols.  Smith  and  Remsen,  being  with 
in  the  lines  at  Brooklyn,  the  convention,  on  the 
24th,  ordered  Gen.  Woodhull,  with  one-half  of  the 
Suffolk  regiment  and  the  militia  of  Queens  county, 
to  advance  into  the  western  part  of  the  latter  coun 
ty,  and  deprive  the  invading  foe  of  supplies,  by  re 
moving  the  cattle  and  grain  in  the  vicinity,  and 
thus  compel  the  British  to  abandon  the  island. 
These  orders  were  immediately  conveyed  by  express 
to  Gen.  Woodhull,  who  at  once  repaired  to  Jamaica, 
which  place  he  reached  on  Sunday,  the  following 
day.  Without  delay  he  apprized  the  convention  of 
his  arrival,  and  awaited  the  assembling  of  the 
troops  he  was  to  command.  But  he  was  doomed 
to  meet  with  delay  and  disappointment.  The  con 
vention  was  fully  aware  of  the  insufficiency  of  the 
force  he  might  be  able  to  raise.  The  inhabitants 
of  Suffolk  county,  capable  of  bearing  arms,  were 
almost  entirely  occupied  in  preventing  or  resisting 
depredations  along  their  extensive  line  of  exposed 
coast.  In  Queens  county,  a  majority  of  the  people 
were  tories,  and  in  the  preceding  year,  by  means  of 
arms  obtained  from  the  Asia  man-of-war,  had  pre 
vented  an  election  of  delegates  to  the  provincial 
congress;  and  a  military  intervention,  under  au 
thority  of  the  continental  congress,  had  been  estab 
lished,  to  deprive  the  tories  of  their  weapons,  and 
to  secure  to  the  whigs  the  freedom  of  election.  Such 
being  the  condition  of  the  country,  but  few  troops 
could  be  raised,  notwithstanding  the  resolutions  of 
the  convention  required  the  officers  of  Queens 
county,  to  call  out  all  the  militia  of  that  county,  to 
gether  with  the  troop  of  horse ;  and,  if  necessary, 
to  call  on  the  troop  of  horse  in  Kings  county  to  join 
them.  Accordingly,  on  the  28th,  the  day  after  his 


37G  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

arrival  at  Jamaica,  Gen.  Woodhull  having  muster 
ed  his  troops,  had  obtained  but  one  hundred  men 
from  Suffolk,  and  forty  from  Queens  county,  and 
but  fifty  of  the  troops  of  horse  from  Queens  and 
Kings  county.  With  this  command,  small  as  it 
was.  he  did  not  hesitate  to  advance  immediately, 
and  attempt,  with  such  unequal  means,  the  execu 
tion  of  his  orders.  The  convention,  aware  of  the 
inefficiency  of  this  force,  had,  on  this  day,  applied 
to  Gen.  Washington  to  allow  the  regiments  of  Cols. 
Smith  and  Remsen,  to  join  their  brigade  under  Gen. 
Woodhull.  Gen.  Washington  replied  that  he  would 
give  immediate  orders  to  that  effect;  and,  on  the 
same  day,  the  26th,  this  answer  was  communicated 
to  Gen.  Woodhull,  by  the  convention,  with  the  ex 
pressed  anticipation  that  the  letter  and  the  rein 
forcement  would  reach  him  at  the  same  time.  Un 
der  the  supposition  that  the  two  regiments  had 
joined  him,  the  convention  gave  him  instructions  to 
take  an  advanced  position,  "  for  preventing  the  in 
cursions  and  depredations  of  the  enemy."  It  has 
been  supposed,  however,  that  these  instructions  did 
not  reach  him  until  the  following  day,  after  the 
battle  of  Long  Island,  when*  he  had  retired  to  Ja 
maica.  The  promised  regiments  were  not  sent  to 
Gen.  Woodhull ;  Washington  and  his  officers  sub 
sequently  decided  that  they  could  not  safely  be 
spared  from  the  lines.  Gen.  Woodhull  was  not, 
however,  made  acquainted  with  this  change  of  de 
termination. 

He  accordingly  advanced  with  his  small  com 
mand,  and  momentarily  anticipating  reinforce 
ments,  approached  to  within  about  six  miles  of  the 
enemy's  camp,  and  to  within  two  miles  of  some  of 
his  scouts  of  light  horse.  On  the  following  day, 
he  had  succeeded  in  driving  back  about  eleven 
hundred  cattle,  and  had  placed  a  line  of  guards  and 
sentinels  extending  from  the  north  to  the  south  of 
the  island  to  prevent  the  return  of  the  cattle,  and  tc 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  377 

cut  off  the  communication  of  the  tories  with  the 
enemy.  On  the  morning  of  this  day,  the  27th,  the 
enemy  gained  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  and  par 
ties  of  his  horse  making  incursions  into  the  country, 
General  Woodhull  found  it  necessary  to  retire  to 
Jamaica  with  his  force,  reduced  to  less  than  one 
hundred  men. 

Though,  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  his  force 
was  reduced  to  ninety  men,  and  constantly  dimin 
ishing,  and  though  he  had  abandoned  all  hope  of 
the  reinforcements,  on  account  of  the  interruption 
of  the  communication  by  the  enemy,  still,  actuated 
by  a  high  sense  of  honor,  and  in  accordance  with 
the  ideas  of  military  obedience  which  he  had  form 
ed  in  the  strictest  school.  Gen.  Woodhull  resolved 
to  maintain  his  post,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  carry 
into  execution  the  orders  of  the  convention.  Ac 
cordingly,  on  this  morning  he  succeeded  in  getting 
back  within  his  own  lines  three  hundred  more  cat 
tle;  and,  if  pressed  by  the  enemy,  was  intending 
to  drive  them,  together  with  those  assembled  on 
the  preceding  day,  back  into  the  woods,  as  he  re 
tired.  Still,  he  resolved  not  to  make  a  final  retreat 
until  he  should  have  heard  from  the  convention. 
He  therefore  sent  his  troops  back  to  a  position  four 
miles  east  of  Jamaica,  to  await  further  orders,  while 
he  himself  remained  in  the  village  till  afternoon,  in 
momentary  expectation  of  a  message  from  the  con 
vention,  to  which  he  had  sent  a  messenger  for  in 
structions,  whether  to  return  and  take  his  seat  as 
president  of  that  body,  or  to  remain  in  his  com 
mand.  On  this  day  he  dined  at  Jamaica,  with  Mr. 
Hicks,  mayor  of  New  York,  and  then,  with  one  or 
two  companions,  set  out  to  join  his  troops.  A 
shower  of  rain  coming  up,  they  took  shelter  at  Car 
penter's  tavern,  two  miles  east  of  Jamaica.  While 
here,  a  squadron  of  British  dragoons,  and  a  party  of 
infantry,  piloted  by  a  tory  named  John  Cornwall, 
approached  the  tavern,  when  the  inmates  fled,  and 
48 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

concealed  themselves  in  a  corn  field  arid  under  the 
barn.     Gen.  Woodhull,  with  the  hope  of  reaching 
his  command,  sprang  for  his  horse,  which  was  un 
der  the  shed,  and,  while   in  the   act  of  unhitching 
the  bridle,  was  taken  by  Lieut.  Huzzy,  of  the  dra 
goons.      He   immediately   surrendered   his  sword; 
when  this  officer  roughly  commanded   him  to  say: 
"  God  save  the  king !"     The  general  replied :   "  God 
save  us  all !"     On  which  this  brutal  lieutenant  cow 
ardly  and   cruelly  attacked   him  with   his  sword — 
severely  wounding  him  in  the  head,  and  mangling 
one  of  his  arms  from  the   shoulder  to  the  wrist — 
and  would  have  slain  his  prisoner,  had  not  another 
officer,  said  to  have  been   Major  Delancey,  arrested 
his  savage  violence.    It  is  a  singular  circumstance, 
that  this  squadron  was  commanded  by  Major  Crew, 
the  general's  nearest  relative  of  the  English  branch 
of  the  family;  and  that  in  consequence  of  the  bar 
barous  treatment  of  Gen.  Woodhull,  he  is  said  either 
to  have  resigned  his  commission  in  disgust,  or  to 
have  obtained  leave  to  return  to  England. 

The  general  was  taken  to  Jamaica,  where  his 
wounds  were  dressed;  and  on  the  next  day,  toge 
ther  with  eighty  other  prisoners,  of  whom  Colonel 
Troup,  of  New  York,  was  one,  was  confined  in  a 
vessel  at  Gravesend,  which  had  been  used  to  trans 
port  live  stock  for  the  army.  Through  the  interces 
sion  of  an  officer,  more  humane  than  the  others,  he 
was  removed  to  a  house  in  New  Utrecht,  where  he 
was  allowed  to  receive  medical  attendance.  He 
now  sent  for  his  wife,  with  a  request  that  she  should 
bring  all  the  money  which  she  could  procure; 
which  he  afterwards  distributed  among  the  suffer 
ing  American  prisoners.  Soon  afterwards  he  suf 
fered  amputation  of  the  arrn,  which  issued  in  a 
mortification,  that  terminated  his  life,  September 
20th,  1776,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  His 
remains  were  removed  by  his  wife,  and  interred  at 
his  residence,  in  Mastic.  He  left  only  one  child, 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  379 

who  was  married  first  to  Henry  Nicoll,  and  after 
wards  to  the  late  Gen.  John  Smith. 

Gen.  Woodhull  was  as  much  distinguished  for 
his  private  and  domestic  virtues,  as  for  the  zeal  and 
talents  displayed  by  him  in  the  cause  of  his  coun 
try.  His  death  spread  a  gloom  over  the  state,  and 
the  inhuman  treatment  he  received,  aroused  a  strong 
spirit  of  indignation,  and  served  to  alienate  still 
more  the  people  from  a  country  whose  officers  were 
capable  of  such  acts  of  cruel  barbarity. 

Caleb  S.  Woodhull  is  the  grandson  of  John  Wood- 
hull,  the  second  son  of  the  third  Richard  Woodhull. 
John  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Hen 
ry  Smith,  of  Mastic,  and,  in  1740,  settled  at  Miller's 
Place,  where,  fifty- four  years  afterward,  he  died,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-five,  leaving  nine  children,  Wil 
liam,  John,  Caleb,  Merrit  S.,  Henry,  James,  Eliza 
beth,  Gilbert,  and  Jeffrey.  Caleb,  Henry,  and  Gil 
bert,  the  latter  of  whom  was  a  merchant  in  New 
York,  died  without  issue. 

William  became  a  clergyman,  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  William  Hedges,  and  was  settled  at 
Chester,  New  Jersey,  where  he  died,  leaving  Tem 
perance,  Mary,  Mehetable,  William,  Jeremiah,  Eli 
zabeth,  John,  Hannah,  Henry,  and  Caleb. 

His  brother  John  married  Miss  Spofford,  of  Phila 
delphia,  and  was  settled  first  as  the  minister  of 
Lancaster,  Pennsylvania;  and  next  at  Freehold, 
New  Jersey,  where  he  died;  leaving  Spofford,  John 
and  Gilbert. 

His  brother  James,  who  was  a  merchant  in  New 
York,  married  Keturah,  daughter  of  Selah  Strong, 
by  whom  he  had  Selah  S.,  (who  became  a  clergy 
man,  and  one  of  the  professors  in  the  theological 
seminary,  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  where  he 
died,)  and  Elizabeth,  who  was  married  to  George 
Griswold,  merchant  of  New  York.  His  sister  Eli 
zabeth  was  married  to  Samuel  Hopkins;  and  the 
youngest  brother,  Jeffrey,  married  Elizabeth  Davis, 


380  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

and  died  in  1839,  leaving  William,  Elizabeth,  and 
Smith. 

Merrit  S.,  the  fourth  son  of  John,  was  the  father 
of  Caleb  S.  Woodhull.  He  inherited  the  patrimo 
nial  estate  at  Miller's  Place,  and  became  an  exten 
sive  agriculturist.  For  many  years  he  was  a  justice 
of  the  peace  and  magistrate,  and  such  was  his  love 
for  peace  among  his  neighbors,  that  it  was  his  usual 
practice  first  to  officiate  as  arbitrator  or  peace- mak 
er  between  the  contending  parties,  and  then  to  is 
sue  process  only  when  all  efforts  at  reconciliation 
had  entirely  failed.  He  died  of  typhus  fever,  after 
an  illness  of  eight  days,  on  the  29th  of  November, 
1815,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven.  His  widow,  whose 
name  was  Mary,  and  the  daughter  of  Samuel  and 
Hannah  Davis,  of  Brookhaven,  survived  him  many 
years,  and  died  on  the  26th  of  March,  1840,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-three. 

Caleb  S.  Woodhull,  their  third  son,  was  born  in 
1793,  and  received  the  rudiments  of  his  early  edu 
cation  at  the  village  school,  in  Miller's  Place.  He 
afterwards  studied  with  the  Rev.  Herman  Daggett, 
who  resided  at  Middle  Island,  in  the  town  of  Brook- 
haven,  and  with  him  pursued  a  course  of  classical 
studies,  preparatory  for  college.  From  thence,  in 
1808,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  entered  the  freshman 
class  of  Yale  college,  then  under  the  presidency  of 
the  late  Dr.  Dwight,  and  in  1812,  graduated  with 
the  honors  of  his  class. 

After  leaving  college,  Mr.  Woodhull  took  charge 
for  a  few  months,  of  the  village  school  in  which  he 
received  the  first  principles  of  his  education.  In 
1814,  he  commenced  the  study  of  law,  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  with  George  W.  Strong,  a  lawyer  of 
great  eminence,  whose  brother,  the  late  Thomas  S. 
Strong,  of  Brookhaven,  first  judge  of  the  county  of 
Suffolk,  was  the  father  of  the  Hon.  Selah  B.  Strong, 
now  one  of  the  justices  of  the  supreme  court  of  this 
state.  Mr.  Woodhull  was  admitted  to  practice  in 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  381 

1817,  and  he  has  pursued  the  profession  of  the  law 
to  the  present  time. 

His  professional  studies  were  interrupted  at  their 
commencement,  by  the  events  of  the  late  war  with 
Great  Britain.  In  the  fall  of  1814,  the  city  of  New 
York  was  threatened  with  an  invasion,  by  the  co 
operation  of  the  enemy's  forces,  advancing  in  two 
columns — one  by  the  way  of  Long  Island  sound, 
and  the  other  by  the  way  of  Sandy  Hook.  On  this 
occasion  he  entered  the  service  of  his  country,  as  a 
private,  in  the  militia,  and  was  engaged  on  a  tour 
of  arduous  duty,  for  the  term  of  three  months,  dur 
ing  the  remainder  of  the  campaign.  He  still  con 
tinued  in  the  militia  service,  until  after  the  war, 
and  held  various  commissions,  chiefly  in  the  gene 
ral  staff,  until  1830,  when,  tired  of  the  idle  parades 
in  time  of  peace,  and  convinced  of  the  utter  inutili- 
ty  of  the  militia  system,  as  then  conducted,  he  re 
signed  his  commission.  At  that  period  he  recom 
mended  and  urged  the  reorganization  of  the  rnilitia 
substantially  in  accordance  with  the  system  which 
has  recently  been  adopted. 

Mr.  Woodhull  is  attached  to  the  whig  party,  and 
has  exercised  an  important  influence  in  the  coun 
cils  of  his  political  friends.  At  the  charter  election 
of  the  spring  of  1836,  he  was  chosen  to  represent 
the  second  ward  in  the  common  council,  and  was 
continued  by  his  constituents  a  member  of  that  body 
for  eight  successive  years.  For  the  first  three  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  assistant  alder 
men,  for  two  of  which  he  was  chosen  president  of 
that  body.  In  1839,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of 
the  board  of  aldermen,  and  was  annually  reflected 
to  that  office  for  five  years  in  succession.  In  the 
year  1843,  when  his  party  was  in  power,  he  was 
chosen  president  of  the  board  of  aldermen,  and  of 
the  common  council,  and,  during  the  absence  of 
the  chief  executive,  was  the  acting  mayor  of  the 
city  during  that  year. 


SS2      AMERICA!*  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

Mr.  Woodhull  was,  during  nearly  the  whole  pe 
riod  of  his  membership  of  the  common  council, 
chairman  of  the  law  committee,  and  in  this  capa 
city  many  of  the  most  important  affairs  of  the  city 
came  before  him  for  especial  examination,  and 
many  measures  of  serious  import  were  either  de 
feated,  or  recommended  and  carried  into  effect,  by 
his  influence.  Among  these  was  one,  in  1840,  pro 
posing  compensation  to  the  members  of  the  com 
mon  council.  He  reported  against  this  measure, 
and  it  was  lost.  At  the  same  time,  he  recommend 
ed  the  reorganization  of  distinct  executive  depart 
ments,  a  measure  of  vital  importance  to  the  wel 
fare  of  the  municipal  government,  and  one  whose 
adoption  both  parties  have  since  repeatedly  urged. 
Another  measure  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  the 
citizens,  was  effected  by  Mr.  Woodhull.  It  had  be 
come  the  practice  of  the  city  government,  in  viola 
tion  of  the  city  charter,  to  introduce  improvements 
or  changes  in  regard  to  streets,  public  squares,  and 
other  matters,  involving  heavy  expenditures,  to  be 
paid  by  taxes,  and  specific  assessments  on  estates, 
supposed  to  be  benefitted,  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  proprietors,  some  of  whom  had  been  over 
whelmed  with  ruin.  A  resolution  to  arrest  this 
practice,  and  require  notice  of  contemplated  im 
provements  to  be  published,  was  introduced  by  Da 
vid  Graham,  Esq.  This  resolution  having  been  re 
ferred  to  the  law  committee,  Mr.  Woodhull  made  a 
very  able  report  on  the  subject,  and,  by  the  aid  of 
his  efforts,  the  present  system  was  established — re 
sulting  in  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  city. 

In  1844,  Mr.  Woodhull  was  chosen  by  the  friends 
of  Mr.  Clay  one  of  the  presidential  electors  for  this 
state,  and  he  received  the  highest  number  of  votes 
given,  with  the  exception  of  Hon.  John  A.  Collier, 
who  was  one  of  the  electors  at  large. 

In  politics,  the  views  of  Mr.  Woodhull  are  broad 
and  li'^eial,  and  he  was  never  known  to  betray  the 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


383 


confidence  of  his  friends,  or  forfeit  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  his  political  opponents.  While  in  the 
common  council,  he  was  regarded,  on  both  sides, 
more  as  an  impartial  judge  than  as  the  advocate  of 
a  party.  His  talents,  sound  judgment,  and  integri 
ty  of  purpose,  have  secured  to  him  the  highest  con 
fidence  of  his  political  friends,  who  have  repeated 
ly  urged  him  to  accept  of  nominations  to  higher 
positions,  which  his  professional  engagements  and 
love  of  retirement  have  induced  him  to  decline. 

Mr.  Woodhull,  in  1818,  married  Lavinia  Nostrand, 
who  died  within  a  few  months  after  her  marriage. 
In  1830,  he  married  Harriet,  daughter  of  Abraham 
Fardon,  of  the  city  of  New  York.  By  this  marriage 
he  has  three  children — two  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Mr.  Wood  hull  had  four  brothers  and  one  sister. 
The  eldest,  John,  to  whom  was  devised  the  patri 
monial  estate  at  Miller's  Place,  was  an  active  and 
enterprizing  farmer.  He  held,  for  many  years,  the 
office  of  brigadier-general,  and  died  July  21st,  1837. 

His  widow  now  resides  on  the  estate  of  her  late 
husband,  and  has  recently  much  improved  and  or 
namented  the  adjoining  grounds. 

Samuel  Woodhull,  the  next  in  age,  was  a  mer 
chant  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  died  May  17th, 
1834,  on  his  return  passage  from  Europe — whither 
he  had  been  for  the  benefit  of  his  health — on  board 
the  ship  Bristol. 

Charles,  the  fourth  brother,  was  a  farmer,  resid 
ing  in  his  native  village. 

His  sister  Maria  was  married  to  Samuel  Hopkins, 
a  wealthy  farmer,  in  the  town  of  Brookhaven, 
where  she  now  resides. 

Albert  Woodhull,  the  youngest,  is  the  leading 
partner  in  the  firm  of  Woodhull  &  Minturn,  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  who  are  proprietors  of  the  well 
known  Liverpool  line  of  packets,  to  which  belong 
the  splendid  ships,  Queen  of  the  West  and  Consti 
tution. 


334  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


WILLIAM  SAWYER. 

There  are  few  men  more  respected  for  their  ster 
ling  virtues,  than  the  Hon.  William  Sawyer,  mem 
ber  of  congress  from  the  fifth  congressional  district 
of  Ohio.     He  was,  during  a  considerable  portion  of 
his  life,  a  blacksmith.     He  was  not,  however,  one 
of  that  class  who,  while  working  with  their  hands, 
neglect  their  heads.     On  the  contrary,  when  wield 
ing  the  ponderous  hammer,  the  mind  of  Mr.  Sawyer 
was  employed  in  deep  reflection,  and  he  acquired 
a  habit  of  accurate  and  thorough  investigation.    He 
was  not  satisfied  with  superficial  attainments,  but 
explored  the  foundation  and  first  principles  of  every 
thing.     His  leisure  hours  were  spent  in  reading  the 
lives  of  eminent  men,  both  of  ancient  and  modern 
days,  and  he  observed  the  astonishing  acquirements 
which  they  made  by  the  ardent  attachment  and  in 
tense  industry  with  which  they  cultivated  science. 
He  saw  that  it  was  by  no  secret  magic  that  they  at 
tained  to  distinction  and  favor — but  that  it  was  by 
patient,  untiring  perseverance.      In  thus  contem 
plating  the  character  of  these  men,  and  their  eager 
love  of  learning,  he  made  no  inconsiderable  profi 
ciency  in  many  branches  of  practical  knowledge. 

Mr.  Sawyer  does  not  attempt  to  figure  as  an  ora 
tor.  When  he  speaks,  you  hear  plain  common 
sense.  In  his  speeches  there  are  no  rhetorical 
flourishes,  but  he  strikes  home  at  once. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Andrew  Kennedy,  ano 
ther  practical  member  of  congress,  was  once  an  ap 
prentice  of  Mr.  Sawyer's.  May  such  men  be  mul 
tiplied. 


WILLIAM    SAWYER. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  385 


JOHN  BANVARD. 

There  was,  says  Howitt,  a  young  lad  of  fifteen — 
a  fatherless,  moneyless  youth — to  whom  there  came 
a  very  extraordinary  idea,  as  he  was  floating  for  the 
first  time  down  the  nohle  Mississippi.  He  had  read 
in  some  foreign  journal  that  America  could  boast 
the  most  picturesque  and  magnificent  scenery  in 
the  world,  but  that  she  had  not  yet  produced  an 
artist  capable  of  delineating  it.  On  this  thought  he 
pondered  and  pondered  till  his  brain  began  to 
whirl;  and  as  he  glided  along  on  the  smooth  sur 
face  of  the  river,  gazing  with  wonder  and  delight 
upon  the  ever  varied  and  beautiful  shores,  the  boy 
resolved  within  himself  that  he  would  take  away 
the  reproach  from  his  country — that  he  would  paint 
the  beauties  and  sublimities  of  his  native  land. 

Some  years  passed  away,  and  still  John  Banvard 
— for  that  was  his  name  —  dreamed  of  being  a 
painter.  What  he  was  in  his  waking,  working  mo 
ments,  we  do  not  know;  but,  at  all  events,  he  found 
time  to  turn  over  and  over  again  the  great  thought 
that  haunted  him,  till  at  length,  ere  he  had  attain 
ed  the  age  of  manhood,  it  assumed  a  distinct  and 
tangible  shape  in  his  mind,  and  he  devoted  himself 
to  its  realization.  There  mingled  no  idea  of  profit 
with  his  ambition;  and,  strange  to  say,  we  can 
learn  nothing  of  any  aspirations  he  may  have  felt 
after  artistical  excellence.  His  grand  object,  as  he 
himself  informs  us,  was  to  produce  for  his  country 
the  largest  painting  in  the  world.  He  determined  to 
paint  a  picture  of  the  beautiful  scenery  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  which  should  be  as  superior  to  all  others, 
in  point  of  size,  as  that  prodigious  river  is  superior 
to  the  streamlets  of  Europe — a  gigantic  idea !  which 
49 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

seems  truly  kindred   to  the  illimitable  forests  and 
vast  extent  of  his  native  land. 

We  will  now  say  something  of  his  eventful  and 
romantic  life;  which,  with  its  hardships,  disap 
pointments  and  privations,  had  fitted  him  for  the 
accomplishment  of  his  herculean  undertaking. 
He  was  bom  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he 
received  a  good  education,  and  is  descended  from 
an  old  French  family.  His  grandfather  was  driven 
out  of  France  by  the  bloody  sword  of  persecution, 
during  one  of  the  revolutions  of  the  country,  and 
fled  to  Amsterdam,  in  Holland.  From  thence  he 
sailed  to  America,  bringing  with  him  little  else  but 
the  heraldic  honors  of  his  family,  for  the  Bon  Verds 
(corrupted  by  the  patois  of  the  country  to  Banvard) 
were  of  highly  respectable  lineage.  The  coat  of 
arms  patented  the  family  by  the  government,  with 
the  lar^ge  antique  silver  seal,  is  now  in  possession 
of  Rev.  Joseph  Banvard,  brother  to  John,  who  is 
pastor  of  the  Harvard  Street  church,  Boston.  Our 
hero  showed  the  bent  of  his  genius  at  a  very  early 
age.  Being  of  delicate  health  in  childhood,  he  was 
unable  to  enjoy  the  active,  out-door  sports  of  other 
boys;  and,  accordingly,  he  amused  himself  by 
drawing  and  painting,  for  which  he  exhibited  de 
cided  talents,  by  becoming  quite  an  accomplished 
draughtsman  while  yet  a  mere  lad. 

While  his  more  favored  brothers  were  in  the  open 
air,  at  play,  he  sometimes  would  be  in  his  room 
projecting  some  instrument  of  natural  science — a 
camera  obscura,  or  natural  microscope.  He  once 
came  very  near  losing  his  eyesight,  by  the  explo 
sion  of  a  glass  receiver,  in  which  he  was  collecting 
hydrogen  gas.  His  room  was  quite  a  laboratory 
and  museum.  He  constructed  a  respectable  diora 
ma  of  the  sea,  having  moving  boats,  fish,  and  a  na 
val  engagement.  He  saved  the  pennies  that  were 
given  him,  not  spending  them  in  toys,  or  sweet 
meats,  as  most  youths  would,  and  bought  some 

L        = 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  387 

types  for  a  wooden  printing  press,  of  his  own  con 
struction,  and  printed  some  handbills  for  his  juve 
nile  exhibitions,  which  were  quite  genteel  speci 
mens  of  typography.  The  child  was  truly  the  father 
of  the  man  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other  cases,  but 
he  had  much  to  pass  through  before  the  promise  of 
the  boy  could  be  developed  in  the  accomplishments 
of  the  man,  as  the  sequel  will  show. 

Young  Banvard  evinced  a  great  taste  for  poetry, 
at  which  he  early  began  to  try  his  versatile  genius. 
He  wrote  some  very  pretty  verses  when  he  was 
about  nine  years  of  age.  He  has  continued  occa 
sionally  to  amuse  his  leisure  hours  in  this  way  up 
to  the  present  time — and  several  of  his  poetical 
productions  have  recently  appeared  in  the  newspa 
pers.  His  poem  of  the  White  Fawn,  which  he  re 
cites  to  his  audiences,  in  illustration  of  a  scene  in 
his  beautiful  picture  of  the  Mississippi,  certainly 
stamps  him  a  poet  of  no  ordinary  abilities. 

When  Banvard  was  about  fifteen  years  of  age, 
his  family  met  with  a  severe  reverse  of  fortune.  His 
father  lived  just  long  enough  to  see  his  property, 
collected  by  frugal  industry  and  perseverance, 
swept  away  from  him  by  the  mismanagement  of 
an  indiscreet  partner,  and  his  family  turned  house 
less  upon  a  pitiless  world.  John  then  went  to  the 
west,  poor  and  friendless,  and  far  away  from  his 
mother,  brother  and  sisters,  and  those  he  held  dear. 
He  arrived  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  sought  employ 
ment,  and  procured  a  situation  in  a  drug  store — but 
this  did  not  suit  his  taste.  Instead  of  making  pills, 
his  employer  would  often  find  him  with  a  piece  of 
chalk  or  coal,  sketching  the  likenesses  of  his  fellow 
clerks  upon  the  walls  of  the  rooms,  where  they 
were  putting  up  medicines.  His  employer  told  him 
he  thought  he  could  make  better  likenesses  than  he 
could  pills.  John  thought  so  too,  and  so  "  threw 
physic  to  the  dogs,"  and  left  the  druggist. 

The  next  we  find   of  Banvard,   he  is  in  the  vil- 


388  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

lage  of  New  Harmony,  on  the  Wabash  river,  where, 
in  company  with  three  or  four  other  young  men, 
he  "  got  up"  some  dioramic  paintings,  fitted  them 
up  for  public  exhibition,  in  a  flat-boat  which  they 
built  for  the  purpose,  and  started  off  down  the  Wa 
bash,  with  the  intention  of  "  coasting-"  that  river 
into  the  Ohio,  and  so  down  the  Mississippi  to  New 
Orleans — thus  exhibiting  to  the  sparse  population 
of  the  wilderness,  specimens  of  the  fine  arts,  at  the 
same  time  replenishing  their  exhausted  funds. 
This  proved  to  be  a  very  unfortunate  speculation. 
The  capital  of  the  company  gave  out  before  they 
were  able  to  complete  their  plans,  and  they  left 
port  with  their  boat  in  an  unfinished  condition,  cal 
culating  to  finish  it  with  their  first  proceeds,  they 
having  invested  their  Inst  few  dimes  in  a  supply  of 
bacon,  corn,  meal,  and  potatoes — but  fate  conspired 
against  them.  The  river  was  low,  and  none  of 
them  had  ever  descended  the  Wabash ;  consequent 
ly,  they  were  ignorant  of  the  channel,  lodged  on 
the  sand  bars,  and  hung  on  the  snags  until  they 
exhausted  their  scanty  supply  of  provisions.  They 
at  length  found  themselves  fast  on  a  sand  bar,  and 
down  to  their  last  peck  of  potatoes  at  the  same 
time.  They  lahored  hard  all  day  to  get  out  of  this 
predicament,  but  without  .success ;  and,  having 
roasted  their  last  potatoes,  they  went  to  bed,  or, 
rather,  to  bench,  for  their  money  gave  out  before 
they  had  procured  bedding,  and  they  had  to  con 
tent  themselves  with  the  softest  plank  of  their  seats 
for  their  slumbers.  Next  morning  they  were  up 
before  the  sun,  with  their  spirits  refreshed  by  a 
night's  repose,  but  without  any  breakfast;  they 
jumped  into  the  water,  with  their  rails  went  stout 
ly  to  work  again,  to  force  their  boat  over  the  bar. 
Over  exertion,  together  with  being  in  the  water  too 
long  without  food,  brought  a  severe  fit  of  ague  upon 
Banvard.  The  bar  upon  which  they  were  fast  was 
called  the  Bone  bank  bar,  as  immediately  oppo- 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  3S9 

site,  on  the  shore,  the  bank  of  the  river  was  full  of 
organic  remains.  Some  of  the  large  bones  were 
then  protruding  out  of  the  side  of  the  bank,  in  full 
view.  As  Banvard  lay  on  the  soft  sand  of  the  bar, 
as  it  was  more  comfortable  than  the  hard  plank  of 
the  boat,  his  head  burning  with  the  fever,  and  his 
limbs  racked  with  pain,  he  looked  at  these  gloomy 
relics  of  an  antediluvian  race,  and  felt  as  though 
his  bones  would  soon  be  laid  with  them.  But  at 
sunset  the  rest  of  the  company  got  the  boat  over  the 
bar,  took  Banvard  aboard,  and  landed  in  the  woods, 
all  nearly  exhausted.  Food  was  as  scarce  here  as 
it  was  upon  the  bar,  and  all  hands  went  supperless 
to  bed.  Next  morning  they  started  early,  not  in 
tent  on  exhibiting  specimens  of  the  fine  arts,  but  on 
obtaining  something  to  eat,  as  by  this  time  they 
were  nearly  half  starved.  But  the  contrary  winds 
landed  their  luckless  craft  on  Wabash  island,  which 
was  uninhabited.  Here,  fortunately,  they  found 
some  pawpaws,  and  they  all  feasted  voraciously  on 
them,  except  Banvard,  who  was  too  sick  to  eat  any 
thing,  and  who  lay  upon  one  of  the  benches  burn 
ing  with  a  violent  fever.  Next  day  they  sent  their 
handbills  down  to  the  village  of  Shawneetown, 
which  was  in  sight,  about  seven  miles  ahead,  in 
forming  the  inhabitants  that  something  would  be 
"  exhibited"  in  the  dioramic  line  that  evening,  at 
their  wharf — and  so  there  was;  for  as  the  company 
approached  the  wharf  with  their  boat,  no  doubt 
with  high  expectations  of  a  good  supper,  they  ob 
served  a  large  audience  awaiting  their  arrival.  But 
the  exhibition  turned  out  different  from  what  was 
expected.  The  boat  lodged  on  a  ledge  of  rocks 
about  half  a  cable's  length  from  the  shore.  The 
men  from  the  boat  got  out  a  line  to  the  people  on 
the  wharf,  who  pulled  with  the  same  eagerness  that 
the  half  starved  company  on  board  pushed  and 
pried  with  their  poles.  But  fate,  regardless  of  the 
philosophy  of  action  and  reaction,  as  well  as  of  the 


390  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

interests  of  the  fine  arts  at  Shawneetown,  held  the 
boat  fast,  and  the  audience  went  away  without  a 
sight  of  the  paintings,  and  the  artists  to  sleep  again 
without  a  supper.  That  night  the  swells  from  a 
passing  steamer  lifted  the  boat  from  the  rocks,  and 
set  it  afloat  down  the  river;  and  when  those  on 
board  awoke  in  the  morning,  they  found  them 
selves  hard  aground  again,  on  the  Cincinnati  bar, 
eight  miles  below  Shawneetown.  The  boat  was 
got  off  with  but  little  trouble,  and  they  landed  in  a 
settlement.  Here  they  were  very  liberal  in  their 
terms,  as  money  was  scarce,  and  they  wanted  to 
make  sure  of  something  to  eat.  A  bushel  of  pota 
toes,  a  fowl,  or  a  dozen  of  eggs,  were  good  for  an 
admission  to  their  interesting  exhibition.  That 
night,  after  they  got  through  exhibiting  their  paint 
ings,  they  had  a  luxurious  supper.  Fasting  so  long 
appeared  to  have  done  Banvard  some  good,  for  it 
starved  the  fever  out  of  him;  he  found,  as  we  often 
do,  that  acrVersity  has  its  blessings,  and  in  a  few 
days  he  wa$  entirely  well. 

The  adventurers  continued  on  with  their  boat, 
stopping  at  the  settlements  along  the  shore,  and 
"  astonishing  the  natives"  with  their  dioramas. 
The  boat  was  not  very  large,  and  if  the  audience 
collected  too  much  on  one  side,  the  water  would 
intrude  over  their  low  gunwales  into  the  exhibition 
room.  This  kept  the  company,  by  turns,  in  the  un- 
artist-like  employment  of  pumping,  to  keep  the 
boat  from  sinking.  Sometimes  the  swells  from  a 
passing  steamer  would  cause  the  water  to  rush 
through  the  cracks  of  the  weather-boarding,  arid 
give  the  audience  a  bathing.  Banvard  says  they 
made  no  extra  charge  for  this  part  of  the  exhibi 
tion,  although  it  was  not  mentioned  in  the  pro 
gramme. 

Money  being  scarce,  they  were  compelled  to  re 
ceive  truck  and  trade  for  admissions,  such  as 
onions,  potatoes,  eggs,  &c.,  &c.  It  was  no  unusual 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  391 

thing  to  see  a  family  coming  to  witness  the  "show 
boat,"  the  father  with  a  bushel  of  potatoes,  the  mo 
ther  with  a  fowl,  and  the  children  with  a  pumpkin 
a-piece,  for  their  admission  fees.  On  a  certain 
night,  while  they  were  exhibiting,  some  rogue  let 
the  boat  loose,  and  it  drifted  off  several  miles  down 
the  stream  with  the  unconscious  spectators,  who 
were  landed  in  a  thick  cane  brake,  about  two  miles 
below.  They  were  obliged  to  make  their  way 
home  as  best  they  could. 

At  Plumb  point  the  boat  was  attacked  by  a  party 
of  the  Murrell  robbers,  a  large  organized  banditti, 
who  infested  the  country  for  miles  around ;  and 
here  Banvard  came  near  losing  his  life.  Several 
pistol  shots  were  fired  at  him;  but,  being  in  the 
dark,  none  of  them  took  effect,  although  several 
lodged  in  the  deck  of  the  boat,  within  a  few  inches 
of  him.  After  a  desperate  resistance,  during  which 
one  of  the  robbers  was  shot,  the  boat  was  rescued. 
During  the  encounter,  one  of  the  company  received 
a  severe  wound  in  the  arm  from  a  bowie  knife,  but 
the  rest  escaped  unhurt.  Mr.  Banvard  continued 
with  the  boat  until  it  arrived  at  the  Grand  Gulf, 
where  he  obtained  a  commission  to  paint  some 
views.  He  had  found  the  receipts  of  the  floating 
expedition  to  be  more  potatoes  than  dimes — more 
eggs  than  dollars — so  he  sold  out  his  interest  and 
left. 

After  this,  he  engaged  in  painting  at  New  Or 
leans,  Natchez,  and  subsequently  at  Cincinnati  and 
Louisville,  arid  was  liberally  rewarded.  Not  con 
tent,  however,  he  executed  a  very  fine  panorama 
of  the  city  of  Venice,  and  exhibited  it  in  the  west, 
with  considerable  success.  He  finally  lost  this 
painting  by  the  sinking  of  a  steamer,  upon  which  it 
was  being  transported  to  the  city  of  Nashville. 
Having  accumulated,  by  his  art,  a  little  capital,  we 
next  find  him  as  the  proprietor  of  the  St.  Louis  mu 
seum,  which  he  had  purchased.  But  here  fate 


i 


392  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK, 

frowned  again  upon  his  efforts.  He  remained  in 
St.  Louis  just  long  enough  to  lose  all  he  had  previ 
ously  earned,  and  then  left  for  Cincinnati,  where 
he  fared  little  better.  He  then  procured  a  small 
boat  and  started  down  the  Ohio  river,  without  a 
dime,  and  living  several  days  upon  nuts,  which  he 
collected  from  the  woods.  His  next  stopping  place 
was  a  small  town,  where  he  did  some  painting,  and 
sold  a  revolving  pistol,  for  which  he  had  given  $12 
in  St.  Louis,  for  $15.  With  this  capital  he  bought 
a  larger  boat,  got  some  produce  aboard,  which  he 
retailed  out  along  shore — then  sold  his  concern  for 
$50.  Having  now  a  little  capital,  the  young  artist 
made  several  very  successful  speculations,  and 
managed  to  make,  during  this  Quixotic  expedition, 
several  thousand  dollars.  With  the  capital  thus  ac 
cumulated,  he  commenced  his  grand  project  of 
painting  the  panorama  of  the  Mississippi. 

For  this  purpose,  he  procured  a  small  skiff,  and 
descended  the  river  to  make  the  necessary  draw 
ings,  in  the  spring  of  1840,  and  the  first  sketch  was 
made  just  before  he  became  of  age.  Had  he  been 
aware,  when  he  commenced  the  undertaking,  of 
the  vast  amount  of  labor  it  required,  he  would  have 
shrunk  from  the  task  in  dismay — but,  having  com 
menced  the  work,  he  was  determined  to  proceed, 
being  spurred  on  to  its  completion,  perhaps,  by  the 
doubts  of  some  of  his  friends,  to  whom  he  commu 
nicated  his  project,  as  to  its  practicability,  and  by 
the  assertions  of  some  foreign  writers,  that  "  Ame 
rica  had  no  artists  commensurate  with  the  grandeur 
and  extent  of  her  scenery."  The  idea  of  gain  ne 
ver  entered  his  mind  when  he  commenced  the  un 
dertaking,  but  he  was  actuated  by  a  patriotic  and 
honorable  ambition,  that  America  should  produce 
the  largest  painting  in  the  world. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  he  encountered, 
was  the  preparatory  labor  he  had  to  undergo,  in 
making  the  necessary  drawings.  For  this  purpose 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  393 

he  had  to  travel  thousands  of  miles  alone  in  an 
open  skiff,  crossing  and  recrossing  thexrapid  stream, 
in  many  places  over  two  miles  in  breadth,  to  select 
proper  points  of  sight  from  which  to  take  his  sketch ; 
his  hands  became  hardened  with  constantly  plying 
the  oar,  and  his  skin  as  tawny  as  an  Indian's,  from 
exposure  to  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  weather.  He  would  be  weeks  together  with 
out  speaking  to  a  human  being,  having  no  other 
company  than  his  rifle,  which  furnished  him  with 
his  meat  from  the  game  of  the  woods  or  the  fowls 
of  the  river.  When  the  sun  began  to  sink  behind 
the  lofty  bluffs,  and  evening  to  approach,  he  would 
select  some  secluded  sandy  cove,  overshadowed  by 
the  lofty  cotton  wood,  draw  out  his  skiff  from  the 
water,  and  repair  to  the  woods  to  hunt  his  supper. 
Having  killed  his  game,  he  would  return,  dress, 
cook,  and  from  some  fallen  log  would  eat  it  with 
his  biscuit,  with  no  other  beverage  than  the  whole 
some  water  of  the  noble  river  that  glided  by  him. 
Having  finished  his  lonely  meal,  he  would  roll  him 
self  in  his  blanket,  creep  under  his  frail  skiff,  which 
he  turned  over,  to  shield  him  from  the  night  dews, 
and  with  his  portfolio  of  drawings  for  his  pillow, 
and  the  sand  of  the  bar  for  his  bed,  would  sleep 
soundly  till  the  morning;  when  he  would  arise 
from  his  lowly  couch,  eat  his  breakfast  before  the 
rays  of  the  rising  sun  had  dispersed  the  humid  mist 
from  the  surface  of  the  river — then  would  start 
fresh  to  his  task  again.  In  this  way  he  spent  over 
four  hundred  days,  making  the  preparatory  draw 
ings.  Several  nights  during  the  time,  he  was  com 
pelled  to  creep  from  under  his  skiff  where  he  slept, 
and  sit  all  night  on  a  log,  and  breast  the  pelting 
storm,  through  fear  that  the  banks  of  the  river 
would  cave  upon  him,  and  to  escape  the  falling 
trees.  During  this  time,  he  pulled  his  little  skiff 
more  than  two  thousand  miles.  In  the  latter  part 
of  the  summer  he  reached  New  Orleans.  The  yel- 
50 


394  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

low  fever  was  raging  in  the  city,  but  unmindful  of 
that,  he  made  his  drawing  of  the  place.  The  sun 
the  while  was  so  intensely  hot,  that  his  skin  be 
came  so  burnt  that  it  peeled  from  off  the  back  of 
his  hands,  and  from  his  face.  His  eyes  became  in 
flamed  by  such  constant  and  extraordinary  efforts, 
from  which  unhappy  effects  he  has  not  recovered 
to  this  day.  His  drawings  completed,  he  erected  a 
building  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  to  transfer  them 
to  the  canvas.  His  object  in  painting  his  picture 
in  the  west,  was  to  exhibit  it  to,  and  procure  testi 
monials  from,  those  who  were  best  calculated  to 
judge  of  its  fidelity — the  practical  river  men — and 
he  has  procured  the  names  of  nearly  all  the  princi 
pal  captains  and  pilots  navigating  the  Mississippi, 
freely  testifying  to  the  correctness  of  the  scenery. 

Banvard  was  a  self-taught  artist — no — he  had  a 
teacher.  He  went  not  to  Rome,  indeed,  to  study 
the  works  of  hands  long  since  passed  away;  but  he 
studied  the  omnipresent  works  of  the  One  Great 
Living  Master! — Nature  was  his  teacher.  Many  a 
time,  at  the  close  of  a  lovely  summer's  day,  after 
finishing  his  solitary  evening  meal,  would  he  sit 
upon  some  lonely  rock,  near  the  margin  of  the  no 
ble  river,  when  all  was  still,  save  the  sweet  chant 
of  the  feathered  songsters  of  the  adjacent  forest,  or 
the  musical  ripple  of  the  eddying  waters  at  his  feet, 
and  watch  the  majestic  bluff  as  it  gradually  faded 
through  the  gray  twilight  from  the  face  of  day  into 
the  darker  shades  of  night.  Then  would  he  turn 
and  study  the  rising  moon,  as  it  peered  above  the 
opposite  shore,  ascending  the  deep  blue  ether  high 
in  the  heavens  above,  casting  its  mellow  light  over 
the  surrounding  landscape,  and  gilding  the  smooth 
surface  of  the  river  with  its  silvery  hue.  It  was 
then  and  there  he  studied  Nature  in  its  lonely 
grandeur,  and  seized  those  glowing  moonlighl 
scenes  which  now  adorn  his  canvas,  so  vividly  too 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  395 

as  if  painted  with  a  pencil   dipped  in  the  silvery 
beams  of  the  living  moon  itself. 

During  the  time  this  undaunted  young  man  was 
transferring  his  drawings  to  the  canvas,  he  had  to 
practise  the  most  rigid  economy,  lest  his  money 
should  give  out  before  the  picture  was  completed. 
He  could  not  afford  to  hire  a  menial  assistant  to  do 
the  ordinary  labor  about  his  paint  room;  and  when 
the  light  of  day  would  recede  from  the  canvas 
upon  which  he  was  at  work,  instead  of  taxing  re 
laxation  when  the  night  came,  he  would  be  found 
grinding  his  colors  or  splitting  his  wood  for  the  en 
suing  day.  Still,  with  all  these  self-denials  and  pri 
vations,  his  last  cent  was  expended  Jong  before  his 
last  sketch  was  transferred  to  his  last  piece  of  can 
vas.  He  then  endeavored  to  get  credit  for  a  few 
pieces  of  this  material,  from  the  merchant  of  whom 
he  had  purchased  the  principal  part  for  his  paint 
ing,  and  with  whom  he  had  expended  hundreds  of 
dollars  while  speculating  on  the  river,  but  in  vain. 
Still,  not  discouraged,  he  laid  his  project  aside  for  a 
time,  and  sought  other  work.  Fortunately,  he  ob 
tained  a  small  job,  to  decorate  regalia  for  a  lodge 
of  Odd  Fellows,  and  with  a  light  heart  went  cheer 
fully  to  work  to  earn  the  money  which  would  pur 
chase  the  material  to  complete  his  picture.  With 
the  avails  he  procured  the  needed  canvas. 

At  last  his  great  project  is  finished !  The  Missis 
sippi  is  painted !  and  his  country  now  boasts  the 
largest  painting  in  the  world !  But  the  trials  of 
our  persevering  artist  were  not  all  passed.  The  his 
tory  of  the  first  exhibition  of  this  wonderful  produc 
tion  is  curious,  and  furnishes  another  illustration  of 
the  necessity  there  is,  never  to  despair.  The  gas 
company  of  Louisville,  before  they  would  put  up 
fixtures  for  him,  compelled  him  to  deposit  double 
the  price  of  such  fixtures  in  their  bank.  To  raise 
this  amount,  he  gave  a  piece  t>f  philosophical  appa 
ratus  to  a  society  in  the  city,  provided  they  bought 


396  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

fifty  tickets  in  advance.  They  agreed  to  this,  as 
they  desired  the  apparatus  very  much,  as  it  was 
worth  twice  the  amount  they  gave  for  the  tickets. 
The  city  authorities  also  ordered  him  to  pay  a  tax 
for  exhibiting  his  work  —  a  work  of  which  they 
ought  to  have  been  proud,  and  which  would  not 
only  reflect  honor  upon  the  city,  but  make  it  noted 
throughout  the  civilized  world. 

The  first  night  he  opened  his  great  picture  for 
exhibition  in  Louisville,  not  a  single  person  thought 
it  worth  while  to  visit  it.  He  received  not  a  cent  — 
the  night  was  rainy.  The  artist  returned  to  his 
room  with  a  sorrowful  heart ;  he  sat  down  upon  a 
box  and  looked  at  the  blank  wall,  where,  but  a  few 
days  be/ore,  with  high  spirits  and  a  cheerful  heart, 
he  had  put  the  finishing  touch  to  his  task  of  long 
years  of  toil  and  hope.  His  heart  almost  sank 
within  him;  but  he  did  not  despair.  The  next  day 
he  sallied  out  among  the  boatmen  by  the  river, 
and  gave  them  tickets;  telling  them  they  must  see 
it;  that  it  was  their  river  he  had  painted.  At  night 
the  boatmen  came,  and  with  them  a  few  of  their 
friends.  When  they  saw  the  accuracy  of  the  paint 
ing,  they  were  delighted,  and  their  wild  enthusiasm 
was  raised  as  one  known  object  after  another  passed 
by  them.  The  boatmen  told  the  citizens  it  was  a 
grand  affair;  that  it  was  correctly  delineated,  and 
its  accuracy  could  be  relied  upon.  Finally,  the 
public  became  convinced  that  the  picture  was 
really  worth  looking  at,  and  then  they  rushed  to 
see  it  by  hundreds. 

The  great  artist  left  the  city-  and  went  to  Boston, 
the  Athens  of  America,  where  his  beautiful  painting 
was  duly  appreciated.  The  senate  and  house  of 
representatives  of  Massachusetts  honored  the  artist 
by  passing  a  series  of  highly  complimentary  reso 
lutions  on  his  wonderful  production.  Admiring 
thousands  upon  thousands  visited  it,  many  coming 
hundreds  of  miles  —  from  the  remotest  parts  of  New 


JAMES    CONNER 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  397 

England — to  view  this  wonderful  production.  In 
deed,  so  great  was  the  desire  to  see  it,  that  the 
rail  road  companies  ran  express  trains  from  adja 
cent  towns  into  the  city  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  eager  throngs  who  wished  to  view  the  greatest 
achievement  of  individual  enterprise  upon  record. 
And  now  our  persevering  young  artist  is  justly 
reaping  a  golden  harvest,  having  already  made  a 
fortune,  realizing  fifty  thousand  dollars  during  the 
first  seven  months'  exhibition  in  Boston  alone;  and 
at  the  present  time  his  great  work  is  attracting 
large  audiences  in  New  York  city. 

The  fame  of  the  artist  is  his  country's  property. 
His  genius  and  enterprise  will  be  honored,  as  Gov. 
Briggs  beautifully  remarked,  so  long  as  the  great 
Father  of  Waters,  and  its  numerous  tributaries, 
continue  to  pour  their  flowing  tides  into  the  great 
ocean. 


JAMES  CONNOR. 

This  person,  who  has  been  for  many  years  at  the 
head  of  a  large  type  foundry  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  and  who  holds  an  honorable  office  in 
the  county,  was  once  a  poor  friendless,  errand-boy 
in  a  printing  office.  Although,  since  his  arrival  at 
manhood,  he  has  had  many  reverses,  yet  by  strug 
gling  manfully  he  always  came  off  victorious. 
With  truth  has  it  been  said,  that  the  early  frowns 
of  Fortune  are  the  best  security  for  her  final  smiles. 


398  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 


SAMUEL  RATHBONE. 

A  sketch  of  the  Rathbone  family,  whose  rnern 
bers  are  found  in  Albany,  New  York,  Buffalo,  and 
other  cities,  would  fill  a  volume.  They  are  of  Sax,- 
on  origin,  and  their  ancestors,  men  of  great  wealth 
and  high  standing,  continued  to  reside  in  Liverpool, 
England,  for  more  than  three  hundred  years.  Their 
American  ancestor,  a  younger  brother,  named  John 
Rathbone,  emigrated  to  this  country  with  the  "pil 
grim  fathers/'  about  the  year  1620,  and  finally  set 
tled  at  Newport  Rhode  Island.  His  descendants 
are  very  numerous,  and  have  settled  in  many  por 
tions  of  the  United  States. 

The  Rev.  John  Rathbone,  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  memoir,  was  born  at-  Stonington,  Connecticut, 
Jan.  26,  1729.  He  subsequently  settled  at  Ashford, 
Windham  county,  in  the  same  state.  He  was  in 
the  ministry  73  years,  and  died  at  Willington,  Au 
gust  2,  1826,  aged  97  years.  His  eldest  son,  John 
Rathbone,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  the  state  of  New 
York,  died  there  March  13,  1843,  aged  91  years, 
leaving  three  sons  and  eight  daughters.  His  son, 
John  Rathbone,  died  at  Albany,  Aug.  13,  1842,  aged 
65  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
He  was  also  very  wealthy. 

Alanson  Douglass,  the  grandson  of  the  Rev.  John 
Rathbone,  above  named,  was  a  banker,  and  presi 
dent  of  the  Troy  bank. 

Samuel  Rathbone,  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  is 
the  youngest  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Rathbone.  FTe 
was  born  at  Stonington  point,  New  London  county, 
Connecticut,  July  1,  1776.  He  married  Miss  Mary 
Turner,  eldest  daughter  of  Isaac  Turner,  Esq.,  a 
merchant  of  that  county,  on  the  13th  of  April,  1800, 
by  whom  he  has  had  ten  children. 


I ~~  "       ~      ~  —  '-"'.' r. ••:„_..-:::•...:-— .-—•.-r- 

AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  399 

|i 

In  1802,  he  went  into  business  as  a  merchant  at 
Hartford,  Connecticut.  He  subsequently  removed 
to  Charlemont,  Franklin  county,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  postmaster,  and  *  magistrate,  until 
1816.  He  afterwards  conducted  his  business  in  the 
cities  of  New  York  and  Albany,  for  many  years. 

In  June,  1841,  he  removed  to  Buffalo,  his  present 
|     residence. 

A  son,   Henry  A.  Rathbone,  is  a   banker  in  the 
city  of  New  Orleans.     Another  son,  Isaac  T.  Rath- 
j      bone,  is  a  member  of  the  senior  class  at  Yale  college. 
His  eldest  son,   James,   became   a   merchant  in 
jj      New  York  city,  and  died  at  Buffalo,  Aug.  17,  1843, 
aged  4 1  years.     Another  son,  Samuel,  was  educated 
at  New  Brunswick  college,   New  Jersey,  became  a 
lawyer,  and  died  in  New  York,  Nov.  6,  1»34,  in  his 
25 th  year. 

The  Rev.  Valentine  W.  Rathbone,  a  brother  of 
our  subject,  died  at  Bellingharn,  Massachusetts, 
May  12,  1813,  aged  52  years.  Another  brother,  the 
Rev.  David  Rathbone,  died  at  Lawrenceville,  Penn 
sylvania,  August  12,  1823,  aged  GO  years.  They, 
as  well  as  their  father,  the  Rev.  John  Rathbone, 
were  all  clergymen  of  the  baptist  denomination. 


400  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

I 


ISAAC  E.  HOLMES. 

This  gentleman,  who  has  for  so  long  a  period 
been  the  popular  representative  in  congress  of  the 
Charleston  district  of  South  Carolina,  was  born  in 
that  city  on  the  6th  of  April,  1796.  He  is  a  man  of 
great  energy,  but  is  moved  only  by  strong  impulses. 
When  fully  aroused,  a  more  complete  transforma 
tion  cannot  be  imagined.  The  eyes,  which  a  mo 
ment  before  were  almost  without  expression,  now 
flash  with  the  fires  of  the  soul ;  and  the  man  who 
appeared  too  indolent  for  the  slightest  exertion,  en 
chains  his  audience  by  the  beautiful  imagery  in 
which  his  sublime  ideas  are  clothed.  He  is  full  of 
earnestness,  and  speaks  as  if  he  expected  to  con 
vince. 

As  chairman  of  the  committee  on  naval  affairs, 
he  has  introduced  many  important  measures  relat 
ing  to  that  branch  of  the  service. 

Mr.  Holmes  is  not  one  of  those  who,  while  they 
are  extremely  tenacious  of  their  own  rights,  forget 
those  of  others.  The  following  incident  will  serve 
as  an  illustration:  Some  sessions  ago,  during  one 
of  the  "abolition  scenes"  in  the  house  of  represent 
atives,  a  disposition  was  manifested  to  deprive  Mr. 
Adams  of  his  right  to  reply.  Mr.  Holmes,  although 
opposed  to  the  views  of  the  ex-president,  indignant 
ly  demanded  that  justice  should  be  done.  He  suc 
ceeded.  Lord  Morpeth,  who  was  upon  the  floor, 
approached  Mr.  Holmes  and  said :  "  That  is  mag 
nanimous.  That  is  the  way  we  do  things  in  our 
country!" 

Mr.  Holmes  is  married,  and  has  we  believe  seve 
ral  children. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  401 


ALANSON  FISHER. 

This  artist,  a  member  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Design,  was  born  at  New  Haven,  Vermont,  on 
the  3d  of  April,  1807.  In  1815,  after  a  lingering  ill 
ness,  which  reduced  him  to  poverty,  his  father  died, 
leaving  a  widow  with  eight  children,  to  buffet  with 
the  storms  of  the  world,  a  duty  which  she  well  per 
formed.  Alanson  was  the  youngest  child,  and 
when  only  ten  years  of  age,  left  home  to  procure 
his  own  living.  After  four  years  of  hard  labor  on  a 
farm,  he  went  to  New  York  city,  for  the  purpose  of 
learning  a  trade;  but  this  being  injurious  to  his 
health,  he  abandoned  it,  and  in  1825  removed  to 
Middlebury,  Connecticut.  He  there  engaged  him 
self  to  a  sign  painter,  and  for  whom  he  made  seve 
ral  drawings.  His  employer  praised  them  extrava 
gantly;  but,  being  poor,  was  unable  to  do  much 
more.  This  mode  of  payment  not  being  sufficient 
ly  substantial,  he  left  and  apprenticed  himself  to  a 
machinist.  This  trade  he  was  learning  rapidly, 
when  the  failure  of  his  employer  once  more  threw 
him  upon  the  world.  He  subsequently  opened  a 
small  shop  on  his  own  account,  but  it  proved  a  fail 
ure,  and  he  lost  his  all.  He  was  then  compelled  to 
return  to  the  practical  details  of  the  trade.  Having 
by  this  time  had  a  plentiful  share  of  the  dark  shades 
of  life,  he  made  that  change  which  generally  gives 
to  its  stern  realities  a  lighter  glow.  In  other  words, 
irt  1832  he  married.  But  the  little  children  soon 
began  to  grow  up  like  olive  branches  around  his 
table,  so  that  his  expenses  soon  began  to  exceed  his 
means.  In  this  dilemma,  in  spite  of  many  discou 
ragements,  he  commenced  the  business  of  portrait 
painting.  For  his  first  portrait  he  received  only 
two  dollars  and  a  half;  but  he  took  heart,  and  by 
51 


402  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

degrees,  after  a  series  of  unexampled  privations  and 
sufferings  he  has  now  obtained  no  mean  celebrity 
as  a  painter.  In  1837,  he  was  elected  an  associate 
of  the  National  Academy  of  Design.  He  still  re 
sides  in  New  York  city. 


MORDECAI  M.  NOAH. 

In  presenting  an  outline  sketch  of  the  cheerful 
physiognomy  of  this  veteran  editor,  let  not  the 
reader  suppose  that  we  are  so  presumptuous  as  to 
attempt  his  history.  To  do  justice  to  one  who  has 
not  only  been  a  military  officer,  a  consul  and  a 
judge,  but  who  has  edited  more  newspapers  than 
any  other  man  in  the  Union,  would  require  a 
volume. 

The  Major  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
on  the  19th  of  July,  1785.  He  is,  therefore,  in  his 
sixty-third  year — but  Time  deals  so  leniently  with 
those  born  to  look  on  the  bright  side  of  things,  that 
he  has  the  appearance  of  a  much  younger  man. 
While  many  of  his  editorial  brethren  have  fallen, 
at  the  stern  summons  of  death,  the  Major  still  lives 
and  laughs,  gathering  the  roses  from  among  the 
thorns  of  life. 

He  has  been  so  long  accustomed  to  activity,  that 
on  the  day  when  he  shall  resign  the  editorial  chair, 
he  may  safely  commence  writing  his  epitaph. 

He  still  resides  in  New  York  city,  where  we  be 
lieve  he  publishes  the  Messenger. 

He  is  an  Israelite,  and  married  a  dark  eyed 
daughter  of  Jerusalem,  named  Jackson. 


M.    M.    NOAH. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  403 


T.  ADDISON  RICHARDS. 

Mr.  Richards  was  born  in  the  city  of  London,  in 
1821.     His  father,  the  Rev.  William  Richards,  left 
England  with  his  family  in  1831,  and  soon  after 
wards  settled  in  Georgia,  where  he  has  since  re 
sided. 

Daring  his  school  days,  Addison's  hours  of  recre 
ation  were  passed  in  rambling  in  the  fields  and 
woods,  after  wild  flowers,  and  in  transferring  to  pa 
per  their  forms  of  grace  and  beauty.  In  due  time 
it  was  his  ambition  to  seize  the  nobler  attractions 
of  nature  in  the  ever  varying  landscape.  His  ear 
liest  production  of  any  consequence,  was  a  volume 
entitled,  The  American  Artist,  or  Young  Lady's  In 
structor  in  Flower  Painting.  It  was  highly  com 
plimented  by  the  press,  and  a  very  large  edition 
was  sold.  When  this  work  appeared  he  was  pur 
suing  his  studies,  both  literary  and  artistic,  at  Bal 
timore,  with  no  other  aids  than  what  he  was  able 
to  pick  up  from  careful  observation  and  from  inter 
course  with  fellow  students,  supporting  himself 
meanwhile  by  industry  in  other  channels.  In  1839 
he  returned  to  the  south,  and  opened  a  drawing 
school  in  Augusta,  Georgia,  where  he  taught  with 
great  success  for  the  three  following  years.  The 
seasons  of  vacation  were  passed  in  rambles  through 
the  picturesque  regions  of  that  state,  in  the  collec 
tion  of  materials  for  a  projected  volume,  illustrative 
of  Georgia  scenery.  In  these  journeyings  he  was 
accompanied  by  his  brother,  W.  C.  Richards,  Esq., 
to  whose  charge  the  editorship  of  the  work  was 
committed.  It  subsequently  appeared  under  the 
title  of  Georgia  Illustrated,  and  was  liberally  and 
extensively  patronized.  In  addition  to  the  beauti 
ful  sketches,  many  of  the  topographical  articles  were 


404  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

contributed   by  the   subject  of  our  notice.     These 
pictures  have  since  appeared  in  Graham's  Magazine, 
and  other  periodicals.     Notwithstanding  its  liberal 
patronage,  the  proprietors  found  the  work  too  ex 
pensive  to  be  continued   with   any  hope  of  profit. 
The  feature  of  landscape  illustration  was,  however, 
retained  in  the  Orion,  a  new  work  with  which  it 
was  followed.     This  was  an  elegant  monthly  ma 
gazine  of  literature  and  art,  of  great  typographical 
beauty.     On  the  publication  of  the  fourth  volume, 
the  Orion  passed  into  other  hands,  and  was  soon  af 
terward  discontinued.     Among  the  numerous  lite 
rary  contributions  to  its  pages,  by  Addison,  were 
The  Trysting  Rock,  The  Village  Postmaster,  Marga 
ret  Donaldson,  Mauvaise  Honte,  Locomotion,  etc. 
He   has  subsequently  contributed  to  several  other 
periodicals  of  high  standing.     But  our  purpose  is  to 
speak  of  him  as  an  artist. 

It  was  during  the  publication  of  the  last  volume 
of  the  Orion  that  he  took  up  his  abode  in  Charles 
ton,  South  Carolina,  as  a  portrait  painter.  He  re 
mained  in  that  city,  meeting  with  tolerable  suc 
cess,  until  the  fall  of  1844,  when  he  resolved  to  es 
tablish  himself  permanently  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  where  he  has  since  resided,  laboring  with 
increasing  success  and  patronage. 

His  time  is  now  devoted  to  landscape  painting, 
in  which  department  he  is  best  known,  and  in 
which  his  reputation  will  ultimately  lie. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  405 


THOMAS  H.  BAYLY. 

This  distinguished  gentleman  was  born  in  the 
county  of  Accomac,  Virginia,   on  the  llth  of  De 
cember,  1810.     He  is  the  son  of  Col.  T.  M.  Bayly, 
and  on  the  maternal  side,   the  grandson,   of  Gen. 
John   Cropper,    a  brave  officer   of  the  revolution. 
The  ancestors  of  Judge   Bayly,   emigrated   to  this 
country  from  England  in  1666,   and  settled  on  the 
estate  on  which  the  judge  at  present  resides.     Hav 
ing  graduated  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  where 
he  studied  law,  our  subject,   in  1830,  "commenced 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  rapidly 
rose  to  distinction.     In   1836   he  was,   by  a  large 
majority,  elected  by  the  legislature  to  fill  the  vacan 
cy  occasioned   by  the  death  of  Gen.  S.  E.  Parker. 
In    1841,    Judge   Upshur   having    been    appointed 
secretary  of  the  navy,  Gen.  Bayly  was  elected  his 
successor  by  a  very  large  majority  of  the  legislature, 
many  of  whom  were  politically  opposed  to  him. 
On  resigning  his  seat  in  that  body,  the  members  of 
both  houses,  without  distinction  of  party,  gave  him 
a  grand  entertainment  at  the  Exchange  hotel.     He 
held  his  judicial  office  two  years,  to  the  entire  satis 
faction  of  the  circuit,  as  was  fully  attested  by  the 
universal  sentiment  of  regret  on  his  resignation. 
In  1844,  on  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Wise  as  minis 
ter  to  Brazil,  Mr.  Bayly,  at  a  great  sacrifice  of  taste 
and  interest,  yielded  to  the  urgent  solicitations  of 
his  friends,   and  was,  by  a  large  majority  over  a 
whig  opponent,  elected  to  congress,  in  which  body 
he  has  to  the  present  time  continued  to  add  fresh 
laurels  to  those  previously  won.     Distinguished  for 
logical  acumen  and  a  forcible  nervousness  of  deliv 
ery,  he  ranks  among  the  very  first  class  of  debaters. 
With  a  refined  classical  taste,  and  the  courtesy  of 


406  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

the  true  Virginia  gentleman,  he  commands  the 
respect  of  all  parties.  In  May,  1837,  Gen.  Bayly 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Evelyn  May,  a 
very  amiable  lady,  the  daughter  of  Judge  John  F. 
May,  of  Petersburg,  Virginia.  They  have  one 
daughter  of  whom  they  have  every  reason  to  be 
proud. 


OLIVER  EVANS. 

Oliver  Evans,  the  "  Watt  of  America,"  was  born  at 
Newport,  Delaware,  in  1756.  His  parents  were  far 
mers.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  Oliver  was  appren 
ticed  to  a  wagon  maker.  Even  at  that  period,  was 
manifested  his  ardent  desire  for  knowledge.  His 
master,  an  illiterate  man,  observing  his  apprentice 
employing  his  leisure  evenings  in  study,  through 
motives  of  parsimony,  forbade  him  using  candles ; 
but  young  Evans  was  not  to  be  discouraged,  for 
collecting,  at  the  close  of  each  day,  the  shavings 
made  from  his  work,  he  would  take  them  to  the 
chimney  corner,  and  by  their  uncertain  light,  pur 
sue  his  evening  studies!  Yet  this  poor  boy  subse 
quently  invented  many  wonderful  machines,  among 
which  was  "  Eructor  Amphibolis,"  a  steam  carriage, 
being  the  first  application,  in  America,  of  steam  power 
to  the  propelling  of  land  carriage.  He  died  on  the 
21st  of  April,  1819. 


AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK.  407 


ELI  WHITNEY. 

Seventy  years  ago,  says  the  American  Literary 
Magazine,  in  a  country  village  of  Massachusetts, 
the  "  meeting-house"  bell  was  ringing  on  a  Sunday 
morning ;  and  grave- faced  farmers,  with  their  ma 
tronly  wives  and  healthy  children,  were  assembling 
for  "  meeting."  Out  from  a  plain  parallelepiped  of 
a  house,  before  which  stood  a  few  stiff  trees,  came 
a  family,  dressed  in  their  best  suits  in  honor  of  the 
day,  and  proceeded  with  reverent  steps  to  the  house 
of  God.  The  father  did  not,  as  was  his  custom, 
stop  to  fasten  the  front  door  of  the  house,  through 
which  they  had  issued ;  for  one  of  his  children,  a 
boy  of  twelve,  had  complained  of  illness  that  morn 
ing,  and  had  been  left  at  home.  One,  however, 
who  could  have  looked  into  the  front  room  of  that 
house,  where  sat  the  boy,  would  have  seen  the 
symptoms  of  illness  disappearing  fast,  as  the  sound 
of  the  retreating  footsteps  of  the  family  came  less 
and  less  distinctly  on  his  ear.  Carefully  watching 
from  the  window,  he  sees  the  last  of  the  party  pass 
from  his  sight;  and  then,  with  his  face  red  with 
excitement  and  the  consciousness  of  trespassing  on 
forbidden  grounds,  he  steals  on  tiptoe  into  the  ad 
joining  room.  There  hangs  the  object  of  his  curi 
osity,  to  examine  which  he  has  feigned  illness — his 
father's  watch — a  stout,  old,  silver  timepiece,  whose 
constant,  careless  tickings  have  lon£  bewitched  the 
boy's  brain  with  the  desire  to  understand  their  se 
cret.  The  old  watch  seems  to  tick  louder  as  the 
little  fellow  approaches  it.  He  takes  it  down  hastily 
from  the  nail  where  it  hangs,  opens  it  and  peers  in 
among  the  wheels  which  he  has  so  longed  to  see. 
His  eye,  though  unpractised,  understands  at  a 
glance  how  cog  moves  cog  and  wheel  turns  wheel, 


408  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  BOOK. 

from  the  barrel  to  the  scapement,  which  now  drops 
off  the  seconds  less  loudly  as  he  holds  the  watch  in 
his  hand.  But  this  is  not  enough;  he  must  look 
more  closely.  He  takes  a  little  knife  from  his 
pocket,  and  handling  it  with  the  skill  of  an  old 
workman,  soon  has  the  watch  in  pieces.  All  its 
delicate  parts  are  lying  before  him,  and  the  watch 
ticks  no  longer.  Till  this  moment,  in  the  eagerness 
of  his  curiosity,  he  has  thought  of  nothing  but  the 
curious  machine  before  him;  but  now,  in  the  still 
ness  of  the  room,  the  recollection  of  his  stern  father 
comes  over  his  mind,  and  he  almost  shudders  to 
think  what  he  has  done.  "Meeting"  must  be  half 
over;  and,  if  he  would  escape  detection,  the  watch 
must  be  put  together  uninjured  before  the  family 
return.  There  is  no  time  to  be  lost.  Skilfully  his 
little  fingers  arrange  the  intricate  machinery,  and 
put  wheel  after  wheel  into  its  place.  But  it  is  slow 
and  nice  work,  especially  for  a  boy's  clumsy  hands; 
and  before  it  is  done  the  sunshine  in  the  room  tells 
that  the  hour  of  noon  has  nearly  arrived,  and  that 
the  long  sermon  must  be  nearly  finished.  At  last, 
however,  the  task  is  completed,  just  as  the  boy  sees 
the  foremost  of  the  returning  congregation ;  and 
with  the  joy  of  escaping  detection,  and  the  greater 
joy  of  understanding  the  machinery,  he  hangs  the 
watch  up  in  its  place;  and  returning  to  the  other 
room,  takes  his  seat  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  fami 
ly,  with  his  hands  full  of  the  Bible  and  his  head 
full  of  cog-wheels. 

The  boy  was  Eli  Whitney  the  inventor  of  the 
invaluable  cotton  gin ! 


NOTE. 

The  notices  of  Gen.  CASS  and  Col.  JOHNSON  are 
unavoidably  deferred  until  our  next  volume. 


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